To Become A Master
by Rinne-Kami
Summary: Naruto has one dream. To become the pokemon master of the world. To do that he will have to go through friend, foe and family alike to achieve his dream. But will Naruto ever make it to the big leagues.
1. Introduction

A/N: Okay, so this is a Pokemon/Naruto crossover. I really wanted to do one as a side project for A Complete Family, Incomplete, so I could vent my humorous tendencies. This is also to build my basic skills as a writer, you know, keeping the plot moving, keeping it interesting, grammar, stuff like that, the chapters won't be really long. So shall we begin.

Disclaimer: Don't own Naruto OR Pokemon.

* * *

"Show a size 5 type loop?" a boy whispered to himself. The boy, equipped with blonde hair and bright blue, his tongue protruding out his mouth, whispered to himself. He sat in a blue and orange hoodie, with blue ¾ length trousers and blue trainers. He was currently in his final exam of the academy, after this he could finally begin his journey, his story of surpassing everyone who came before him. His instructor, Iruka kept a vigilant eye on everyone participating, particularly him. 'Does he think I'm gonna cheat, this test is easy' He thought as he answered the question.

'Water is super effective against Fire, Fire is super effective against Grass, Grass is super effective against Ground, Ground is super effective against Electric and Electric is super effective against Water.'

'Easy, Okay last question.' Naruto thought. With this last question his time at the academy was over...unless he failed, but he knew he wouldn't.

"Give an example of two types, where when facing each other, Type A has no effect against Type B, and Type B only causes regular damage against Type A?'

Naruto stood puzzled, but only for a second.

'Type A could be Poison and Type B could be Steel.'

That was it. He finished. He placed his pen down and looked around a lot of people seemed to be finished as well, the people who hadn't didn't seem to be having any problems answering the questions. He waited quietly until a bell rang.

"Alright that's it, if you haven't finished I'm sorry, but I can give you no more time." Iruka spoke calmly as he began taking in the papers, no one seemed to be that bothered, they all finished the test with time to spare. Once he had collected the tests in Iruka spoke.

"And that is your final test, we shall mark these and you will receive your test results tomorrow, come prepared with your hopes up, there's no point in imagining the worst, no go on and get out." Iruka finished with a smile.

The children charged out of the room, straight out the academy, shouting how they were one step closer to become a Pokemon master. They no doubt ran straight home, to tell their parents that they had their final test.

**-Break-**

"Mom, I'm home!" Naruto shouted as he entered the house.

"I'm in the living room." His mom, Kushina replied.

Naruto casually walked into the living room, his mom was sat on the couch, flicking through TV channels.

"I had my final exam today, we go back tomorrow to get our results, I'm one step closer to becoming the champion of the world!" Naruto exclaimed happily.

"Champion of the world, you say." Kushina said with a chuckle. "To do that you're gonna have to beat him."

"He doesn't scare me, I'll make my Pokemon super tough and wipe the floor with him." Naruto spoke, calmly, certain of what he said.

Kushina giggled at her sons antics. She continued flicking the channels, when speaking of the devil, the topic of their conversation appeared on the TV.

"_So Minato-san, another year of being the champion of the world has ended, will this year be the last one?" A reporter questioned._

"_I don't know, every time my pokemon win they get stronger, so the person who beats me is gonna have to be mega strong." Minato replied._

"_Anything to say to the fans and hopefuls?" The reporter asked._

"_Yeah, one thing, Listen up newbies! I'm looking for a real challenge this year, so therefore I am issuing a challenge to you! Get strong and come battle me! I'll be waiting!" Minato smiled. _

It was his trademark smile. A wink and a smile so wide that it showed both sets of teeth. However the gesture with his hand was the thing that caught Naruto's attention.

The only two fingers he had held up was his index and ring finger. Naruto instantly remembered the day he was first shown that.

Flashback

Minato was standing in front of his son ready to go back to the pokemon league.

"Dad, you just got back, why do you have to leave again." Naruto pleaded to his dad to stay.

"Cause being the champion's a full time responsibility, but I promise that I'll come visit more often, 'kay." Minato said with a smile.

"Okay." Naruto sniffled as his dad ruffled his hair.

"One more thing." Minato said as he lifted his had, he clenched his fist, leaving the index and ring fingers up. "See this, the next time you see this, it means I'm issuing a challenge directly to you, I want you to get a strong pokemon team and come battle me on the grandest stage of them all. We'll make it a promise."

"Promise." Naruto said as he did the same hand gesture.

Flashback end

Naruto subconsciously performed the same hand sign.

"I'm getting ready. Dad." Naruto whispered quietly, smiling slightly.

**-Break-**

Naruto sat in his home room at the academy, Iruka was going through the exam results.

"And so Sasuke Uchiha is named top of the class and Naruto Namikaze is named the dead last of the class." Iruka spoke calmly.

"WHAT!" Naruto shouted, that last sentence got his undivided attention. "Why am I the dead last, I passed didn't I!"

"Yes Naruto but just barely." Iruka looked at the boy. "You answered all the questions correctly, however you didn't explain your answers, therefore you lost marks."

Naruto groaned in annoyance, it could have been worse, he could have not passed at all, but to be named the dead last, especially with his father's reputation was embarrassing.

Professor Sarutobi, a head researcher of pokemon entered the room, everyone went silent, Sarutobi was respected for his vast knowledge of Pokemon and for his warm smile.

"Well done for all passing." Sarutobi spoke with a smile. "Please, if you will come back tomorrow for the final announcements and collection of your Pokedex and Pokeballs. And if you can bring your starting partner, it can be whatever you want it to be, if you can not bring one, I will supply you with a starter pokemon as well." Sarutobi finished with a smile, before leaving the room.

Everyone in the room gulped. They needed to find a starter for tomorrow. And quick.

**-Break-**

Naruto walked back into his house in Twinleaf Town depressed, his mom asked him if he wanted dinner, but he wasn't hungry. He went straight to his room and collapsed on his bed. The rumor was that pokemon given to you by Professor Sarutobi were weak and useless. And he had no way of getting his own starter pokemon.

'Mom released all her pokemon years ago.' Naruto thought with a sigh. 'And dad's not here to give me a starter pokemon either.'

Naruto sighed again as he rested his head on the pillow.

'I'm gonna be so far behind the others with Professor Sarutobi's super lame pokemon.' Naruto thought again. As he began ticking down the clock to the beginning of his pokemon journey. Although he wasn't looking forward to tomorrow.

**-Break-**

Naruto was ready to get his super lame pokemon, it was time to go to Sarutobi's laboratory. His was about the leave the house when his mom called out to him.

"Hey Naruto wait, aren't you going to say goodbye to him." Kushina spoke.

"Goodbye to who?" A puzzled Naruto replied.

"He came home last night, you went to bed so early that you missed him arrive, he says he has something for you." Kushina spoke with a smile.

As if on cue a thud was heard from upstairs, in the direction of a room that Naruto knew only one person went in. Footsteps were heard that led out the room and approached the stairs. A foot landed on the stairs. Followed by another, followed by knees and pajama shorts, hands and a white vest appeared next and finally his face, he had blonde hair and blue eyes, but had young features, around 20, which were all still filled with drowsiness. Naruto smiled and ran to the man and hugged him instantly.

"Volkner!" Naruto yelled happily.

"Yo Naruto, Mom said you passed the exam, so I came to see my little brother get's his first pokemon." Volkner replied with a smile.

"You got me a pokemon!" Naruto yelled with glee.

Volkner walked back upstairs after a few rustling sounds he came back down. He cleared his throat and began. "As is tradition of the Namikaze family, the men are to start their pokemon journeys with an electric pokemon. Dad started with a Elekid, I started with an Pikachu, so you should start with one as well." He finished, tossing Naruto the pokeball.

"OOOH! What is it is it a Zapdos, or a Electivre, or is it your Raichu!" Naruto stared in awe at the pokeball.

Volkner chuckled. "Open it and find out."

Naruto threw the ball in to the air with a flash the pokemon inside was revealed. It was a blue cat shaped pokemon with darker blue fur at the back and a yellow star at the end of its tail, it had a yellow ring going around it's two front paws. It's eyes were yellow in colour.

"Shinx!" It spoke happily as it looked at Naruto.

Naruto looked at the pokemon carefully. The larger tuft of hair on it's head and fur on its back paws indicated it was male.

"COOOOL! Thanks Volkner!" Naruto shouted as he picked up the pokemon. "With this super pokemon I'll beat everyone, I can't wait to rub it in Sasuke and Kiba's faces!" Naruto shouted as he bolted out the house running towards the laboratory in Sandgem Town.

Volkner watched his brother speed off. "He has way too much energy." He said.

"Oh, Really, I remember you acting the same way when dad gave you Pikachu." Kushina said with a giggle.

Volkner sweat dropped. "Mom. That was embarrassing. Who knows who could have heard that."

**-Break-**

Naruto arrived at the Laboratory to discover that he was one of the last to arrive. He saw Sakura, Hinata, Sasuke, Ino, Shikamaru, Choji, Kiba and Shino huddled together and walked up to them.

"Hey guys." Naruto called to them gaining their attention.

"Hey Naruto, That your starter pokemon?" Kiba snorted. "Looks pretty weak to me."

"Oh Yeah!" Naruto shouted in retaliation, Shinx seemed to growl at him as well. "Shinx will beat the crap outta whatever you got...What did you get by the way?"

Kiba laughed as he threw his pokeball in the air. "Go Akamaru!"

"Growlithe!" Akamaru called in response.

Naruto looked at the pokemon, not impressed. "Is that it? What did you guys get?" He asked looking at everyone else.

One by one they all released their first pokemon.

"Houndour, fight." Sasuke spoke, not really caring. A few girls squealed that Sasuke-kun's pokemon was as cool as him.

"Cherubi, dance." Sakura called.

"Azuril, dance." Ino called, not allowing Sakura to upstage her.

"Now, Combee." Shino spoke calmly and dully. The red mark on the lowest face revealed it was a female Combee.

"Slakoth." Shikamaru spoke with a yawn. The pokemon replied with a yawn.

"R-Ralts, go." Hinata spoke meekly.

"Gulpin, now." Choji said in between shoveling chips into his mouth.

The pokemon they got really seemed to match them. He was about to challenge them all to a match when Iruka appeared with Professor Sarutobi.

"If you will all please come in, we will give you your 5 pokeballs and pokedex and tell you the final announcement."

**-Break-**

They had received their pokeballs and their pokedex. Naruto's was orange, it seemed everyone had their own custom colour.

Sasuke had a black one.

Sakura had a pink one.

Hinata had a light blue.

Shikamaru had a gray one.

Choji had a brown-red one.

Ino had a purple one.

Kiba had a dark red one.

Shino had a moss green one.

"Now, you may not see each other for a long time, so I would like you to state your name, what types you prefer and what your aspirations are." Iruka stated. "We will go in alphabetical order. Shino Aburame."

Shino stood up. "My name is Shino Aburame." Shino spoke monotonous. "I prefer bug type, my goal is to challenge all the gyms using only bug type pokemon." Shino finished and sat down. No one really expected more than that.

"I'm Choji Akimichi. I don't have a specific type. My goal is to become top coordinator." Choji spoke while eating snacks.

"I am Sakura Haruno. I like cute pokemon and my goal is to become top coordinator, among other things." Sakura finished, glancing at Sasuke and blushing.

"M-M-My name is H-Hinata H-Hyuuga. I-I like psychic types. A-And my goal is to become a respected coordinator."

"Kiba Inuzuka. I like dog shaped pokemon. My goal is to become the champion of the world!"

"*yawn* Shikamaru Nara, no specific type. No real goals."

"Shikamaru, you're challenging the pokemon league!" Iruka interrupted.

"Hey, It's my turn! My name is Naruto Namikaze, I have no specific type. My goal is to become the champion of the world!"

"Sasuke Uchiha. I like Dark and Fire types. My goal is my ambition, to defeat my brother."

"And who is you're brother?" Shino asked.

"Itachi Uchiha." Sasuke spoke. The murmurs started. Everyone knew of Itachi, he was a member of a group called Akatsuki, an incredibly strong group of trainers above the gym leaders, even above the 5 Kage, they gave away symbols if you managed to defeat them. They were also only ten members at once.

"And I'm Ino Yamanaka, I have no specific type preference and my goal is to become top coordinator."

"Good, those are all fine dreams. And now for the final announcement." Professor Sarutobi began. "You are all rookies, beginners, therefore to keep you all safe at the beginning of your journeys, you travel in groups of three until you all have at least 3 badges or 2 ribbons. The groups are:

Sakura Haruno

Naruto Namikaze

and Sasuke Uchiha"

Ino began protesting about not being in Sasuke's team. Before Sarutobi continued

"The next team is:

Shino Aburame

Hinata Hyuuga

and Kiba Inuzuka

and so the final team is:

Choji Akimichi

Shikamaru Nara

Ino Yamanaka

You may leave at anytime. That is all. Good luck to everyone of you. I know you will make me, Iruka and yourselves proud."

**-Break-**

Kushina began sobbing and hugged her son when he told her he was going to leave. She knew this was coming, but she wasn't prepared for the day when he said it. Naruto could have sworn he heard Sasuke chuckling behind him.

"Where's Volkner? I wanna goodbye to him as well." Naruto said.

"He's already left." Kushina sniffled. "He said he had to go finish his own journey, but he said he's sure you'll meet him sooner or later and is expecting a good battle from you."

"Okay." Naruto spoke slightly down heartened. "Well I'm not gonna keep him waiting. I gotta get super strong!" Naruto shouted as he ran to Sakura and Sasuke.

Kushina watched her son run off to his new friends before a figure appeared in their doorway.

"Why didn't you come say goodbye to him?" Kushina asked.

"Because if he knew I was here, he would badger me for a fight, and he's not ready for that." Was the reply she got.

Kushina sighed.

"Minato."

**-Break-**

"So let's get this show on the round." Naruto spoke as he punched the air. "TOOO!...Where are we going again?"

"IDIOT!" Sakura shouted as she punched him in the head. "We're going to Jublife City, there are a few things we need there, then we are going to Oreburgh City for the first gym!"

"Okay." Naruto groaned as he rubbed his head.

"We also need a secondary pokemon. We won't make it far with just one." Sasuke spoke.

"Well I'm gonna be the first to catch one!" Naruto ran a head, eager to have his first pokemon battle. Sasuke grunted in annoyance but soon ran after him, Sakura ran after Sasuke.

They all began their journey on a fast pace...

* * *

A/N: So first chapter done. I'm gonna carry this on cause I quite like the idea. Oh the 5 kages are gonna be like the elite four and Akatsuki are gonna be like the Battle frontier, in case that wasn't clear. So see ya next time.

Rinne-Kami Out.


	2. Competition

A/N: Hello again, gee I was having so much fun writing this that i couldn't leave it alone. So here's the second chapter.

* * *

Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura were walking down Route 202 they were closing in on Jublife. Sakura had insisted that they go there and receive poketches. Tools that would vital in the future.

"How long til we get the?" Naruto moaned.

"If you don't shut up, I'll tie you to that tree and leave you there!" Sasuke retaliated instantly, Naruto had been whining for the past 20 minutes.

"STARLY!" A small, gray bird pokemon jumped out in front of them. It looked at the quite scared.

"The big mark on it's head means it's male." Sakura informed.

"I don't care!" Naruto shouted. "I just wanna catch it. Go Shinx". Naruto threw his pokeball into the air.

"Shinx!" Shinx called as it appeared.

"Shinx. I want to catch that pokemon. So use tackle!" Naruto called.

Shinx charged at the pokemon that seemed to be startled. Shinx hit it dead on and the Pokemon fell over. It complained to itself before it charged at Shinx at a much faster pace.

"Shinx dodge it!" Naruto called, but Shinx was already hit with the attack."

"That was quick attack, Naruto." Sakura told him.

Naruto growled to himself. "Shinx use tackle again!" He ordered.

Shinx once again attacked the pokemon. It was down for a little longer this time. Naruto threw the pokeball at the pokemon. With a beam of red the pokemon was sent into the pokeball. The pokeball rattled for a few seconds before stopping.

"Yatta!" Naruto shouted in glee as he ran out to pick up his new pokemon. Naruto pulled out his pokedex and scanned the ball.

_Starly, The Starling pokemon, Starly flock in great numbers. Though small, they flap their wings with great power, Their singing is noisy and annoying._

Naruto began dancing around chanting about his new pokemon.

"Idiot. Let's get out of here first." Sasuke spoke as he began walking off.

"Ah. You're just jealous cause I got a new pokemon and you didn't." Naruto replied with arrogance and cockiness.

**-Break-**

"There's the entrance to Jublife!" Sakura yelled happily, they had been walking all day. She began running forward when an injured pokemon jumped out and ran into her. Both fell to the floor with a thud.

Sakura looked at the brown pokemon. It had a round body with a long tail and long ears. I looked very badly hurt.

"Sentret." It whimpered weakly against Sakura.

"A Sentret." Sasuke looked at the pokemon. "Someone must be using a pokeradar nearby." Sasuke said as he began looking around for anyone else. When he turned around the Sentret was gone and Sakura was holing a pokeball.

Scanned reached for her pokedex and scanned her pokeball for information on her new pokemon.

_Sentret, the Scout pokemon, A very cautious pokemon, it raises itself up using its tail to get a better view of its surroundings. _

"It was too injured to leave it here. Plus it's so cute. I just had too have it." Sakura smiled at him. Although Sasuke didn't really care.

"If it's injured we need to get to a pokemon centre soon." Sasuke spoke.

Sakura nodded and they began walking into Jublife when they reached the pokemon centre Naruto and Sakura gave their pokemon to Nurse Joy to be healed. Sasuke had walked off on his own to look around.

**-Break-**

After getting their pokemon healed Naruto and Sakura were walking around Jublife they had restocked on supplies and answered three easy questions to get a poketch each, with a spare for Sasuke as well. Naruto's was blue and Sakura's was pink, however Sasuke's was black.

"Hello beautiful!" A boy shouted at Sakura startling her greatly. "My name is Rock Lee, I would like to request a date from you, please. To show you a truly strong trainer." Lee spoke as he winked to Sakura.

Sakura looked greatly perturbed at the boy, his eyebrows were huge. "Thanks but I'm waiting for someone to arrive, so I can't go. Sorry." Sakura let the boy down gently. Naruto however took the last thing he said as an insult.

"Hey, You saying I'm weak, cause I'll wipe the floor with you right here, right now!" Naruto shouted in retaliation.

"Very well." Lee spoke. "I never deny a challenge, we shall have a two on two double pokemon match." Lee spoke as he cleared room between them. Everyone else in the street seemed to move out the way as well. "As the person, to instigate the challenge it is only fair that you should release the first pokemon." Lee spoke.

"Fine." Naruto returned. "Go Shinx, Starly!" He called as he threw his pokeballs. Both pokemon appeared in a flash, ready to fight.

Lee smiled. "They appear to be strong, however, my pokemon are stronger, Combusken, Tyrogue battle." Lee called his pokemon out.

One was a yellow and red chicken standing on its back legs the other was purple and looked like a little kid.

Naruto and Sakura pulled out there pokedexes.

_Combusken, The Young Fowl Pokemon, Its kicking mastery lets it loose 10 kicks per second. It emits sharp cries to intimidate foes. _

_Tyrogue, The Scuffle Pokemon, It is always bursting with energy. To make itself stronger, it keeps on fighting even if it loses. _

'Their both fighting types, so with Starly I got this in the bag' Naruto thought to himself. "I'll move first, Starly use quick attack on Combusken and Shinx use tackle on Tyrogue!"

"Tyrogue, Combusken dodge." Lee spoke calmly. Both pokemon obeyed and did so with ease.

'Their fast.' Naruto thought.

"Tyrogue, use Mach Punch on Starly. Combusken use Fire Punch on Shinx." Lee ordered.

Naruto watched as his pokemon had no time to dodge, he barely had time to tell them to. Both of Lee's pokemon closed the distance between them and Naruto's and with one hit, both of Naruto's pokemon fell to the floor, knocked out. Naruto fell to his knees as well. He lost his first battle ever.

"Naruto-kun, I apologize for my win, but I wanted to show you that although brave and courageous, rushing in head first without knowing anything about your opponent will only leave you at a disadvantage." Lee spoke solemnly as he reached into his back pocket, pulling out a badge case and opening it, revealing to Naruto its contents.

Naruto looked at the case in surprise. "You...already have 3 badges." Naruto spoke quietly. He looked around the crowd were looking at him funny. He had just humiliated himself in front of them all, he could only imagine the reaction if they knew he was the champion's son.

Lee put away the case and looked at Sakura. "Perhaps our date at another time then." Lee spoke before turning to Naruto. "Naruto-kun, I would suggest you enter the rookie team tournament here in Jublife. It is a great way to get experience quick and the winning team receive an unique pokemon. My team won it last year."

"And what pokemon did you get for winning?" Sakura asked.

Lee smiled and pulled out two pokeballs. "Go." Lee said as he opened the balls. Revealing two Tyrogue. "My teammates and I won these Tyrogue, Sakura-san, however they gave theirs to me, due to my love of fighting type pokemon. I wonder what will be given away this year." Lee mused as he returned all his pokemon and walked away. "One last thing Naruto-kun, I am still considered one of the weaker trainers, my former teammate can easily defeat me, for now anyway."

Naruto still sat on the ground. He felt miserable, Sakura came and hoisted him up she helped him and his pokemon back to the pokemon centre.

**-Break-**

When Sasuke first heard about Naruto loss, he wanted to find this Lee and challenge him himself, however he also would thank him. Because he had managed to keep Naruto quiet all day. Sakura was in the middle of telling him about the rookie tournament in Jublife. 'I would be good for experience.' Sasuke thought.

"Where do we sign up?" Sasuke asked. "We could use the experience, yet a winner will be better, so idiot, get your spirits back up."

Sasuke, Naruto and Sakura walked up to the registration sheet. Most were people they never heard of.

"Hey look, Shikamaru, Ino and Choji have signed up as well!" Sakura exclaimed, pointing at their names.

"Yeah, but they have no chance at beating us, neither do you!" A voice called from behind them. They saw Kiba, Shino and Hinata.

"You guys are signing up as well?" Sakura asked.

"Yes. Sasuke, I expect a decent battle from you." Shino spoke. Sasuke nodded in return.

"Naruto, I expect to wipe the floor with you!" Kiba shouted at the blond, who didn't respond.

"I said, I expect to wipe the floor with you! Hello, Naruto! Naruto! What's up with him?" Kiba asked.

"Naruto's upset cause he had his first match and had his ass handed to him." Sasuke spoke as if it was unimportant.

Kiba was taken back a little, he liked making out that Naruto was weak, but he knew it was the opposite, plus it wasn't fun if Naruto didn't retaliate.

"Well, We'll see you at the tournament tomorrow." Shino spoke before turning, his teammates soon followed after him.

**-Break-**

Naruto stood there with Sasuke and Sakura, they were both looking around, he on the other hand didn't want to be taking part in this tournament, his defeat against Lee had affected him greatly, he felt like he should give up on becoming a trainer.

"There's quite a few trainers here isn't there." Sakura said, looking around.

"There doesn't seem to be any major challenges." Sasuke returned. He looked at Naruto and smacked him in the arm.

"Listen Naruto, I don't care if you lost your first fight and neither should you, it was your first battle after all." Sasuke spoke to him quite seriously.

"You don't understand if he found-" Naruto was saying before he was cut of by a microphone.

"Thank you for all participating in today's tournament." The referee began. "As you know the winner of the tournament will receive a fabulous unique pokemon. Now there are 16 teams participating. So the first battle will be a double battle with each trainer using one pokemon each, when the team numbers goes down to four, each trainer shall use two pokemon each. The team players must be interchanging, so no two of three trainers are constantly battling, the first match ups are as follows:

Ethan, Lyra and Sylvar

vs.

Jimmy, Kyle and Helen

Kiba, Shino and Hinata

vs.

Hikari, Takeshi and Aoji

Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura

vs.

Kris, Reagen and Gray

Fuujin, Hakuto and Inomatsu

vs.

May, Brendan and Wally

Daniela, Cruz and Chloe

vs.

Garvey, Kim and Lew

Rhed, Leef and Blu

vs.

Macy, Opal and Sawyer

Shikamaru, Ino and Choji

vs.

Chamu, Isaga and Jigumo

Thad, Zane and Dahlia

vs.

Dawn, Lucas and Barry

The first match will begin shortly, may the other please leave to prepare while the first to teams remain for battle."

A Nurse, who appeared to be quite young, about 25 suddenly ran onto the stage, she seemed to be quite giddy about something, even more so than usual.

"Naruto." She spoke in a happier tone. "You're father is on the phone." She finished with a giggle before she skipped off.

"My dad." Naruto said quite worried.

"Naruto's dad." Sakura and Sasuke said in unison. Naruto never mentioned his dad before.

"What were you saying Naruto before the mic went on?" Sakura asked.

"Come with me." Naruto sighed. "You'll find out."

**-Break-**

Naruto had found out which phone his dad was on. He walked up to it with Sakura and Sasuke and flicked on the screen.

The screen was static for a few seconds before it connected.

"_What's up Naruto. Your mom had told me Volkner gave you your first pokemon, shame, I had one for you as well, but mine wasn't an electric type, so it's good Volkner kept the tradition going." Minato said on the phone._

"Thanks dad." Naruto said sadly.

Sasuke and Sakura looked at the screen with shock, Naruto was speaking to the champion of the world. And he called him dad!

"So these are you teammates, Hi, I'm Minato, Naruto's dad." Minato said with a smile.

"Hi, Minato-san." Sakura said weakly.

"_What's up Naruto." Minato asked again_.

"He's been down since he lost his first pokemon battle." Sasuke spoke again.

"_Oh, well Naruto, although that's a sting, it's nothing to get all depressed about. Heres something that'll cheer you up, I lost my first pokemon battle as well." Minato confessed, he didn't seem embarrassed about it at all._

It got Naruto's attention, his head sprung up. His dad also lost his first match.

"_It's true." Minato continued. "I was walking along and I saw this guy with white hair peeping on girls in a bath house, to defend the women I challenged him to a battle. And he wiped the floor with me. But I didn't get angry or sad, I knew that I had to get stronger to defeat him."_

Naruto smiled. At least he knew now he wasn't a failure. "Thanks dad."

"_No problem." Minato spoke with a smile. "Remember Naruto, I want a battle out of you as well, so does Volkner, so you can't waste time moping around."_

"Yeah." Naruto said in return.

"_Well I gotta go. Another hopeful thinks he can beat me." Minato laughed. "If you ever want that pokemon just tell me or your mom and I'll send it over. Sasuke, Sakura look after Naruto will you. I know he can be a bit loud. But he'll grow on you." Minato spoke. Sakura nodded at him and he smiled before hanging up._

There was an awkward silence before Sakura spoke out.

"WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL US THAT YOUR DAD WAS THE CHAMPION OF THE WORLD!" She shouted at Naruto.

"Because...it brings unwanted attention." Naruto replied shifting his eyes to the right.

Sakura turned and saw everyone looking at them, especially Naruto, in awe and fear. She blushed realizing that she just made them the target of the tournament.

"Who is Volkner?" Sasuke asked.

"My big brother." Naruto replied.

"You have a big brother." Sasuke replied, his eyebrow rose. If Naruto had a big brother, who is also the son of the champion, the he will be strong a good challenge.

The PA suddenly came on

":Would Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura and Kris, Reagen and Gray please come to the field for battle, thank you."

"Well it's us. Who wants to go first?" Naruto asked.

"Me and Sakura will go first." Sasuke replied. "I don't think you're in your right state of mind yet." Sasuke spoke, Sakura nodded, a chance to team up with Sasuke, she wasn't going to miss it.

**-Break-**

Naruto sat on the bench. Watching his teammates get ready for battle. He would have to fight in the next round, but he wondered who he should team up with. Sasuke looked like the type of guy who wanted to do the whole thing by himself, and Sakura looked like she would just play a support role in fights, not good team ups.

They appeared to be fighting the two called Kris and Gray, a boy and a girl.

"Go Beedrill." Gray called.

"Go Butterfree." Kris called.

"A Beedrill and a Butterfree, are they not taking us seriously." Sasuke snorted. "Go Houndour."

Sakura pulled out her pokedex to scan the three pokemon in front of her.

_Beedrill, The Poison Bee Pokemon, Flies at high speed and attacks using its large venomous stingers on its forelegs and tail. _

_Butterfree, The Butterfly Pokemon, The wings are protected by rain-repellent dust. As a result, this Pokemon can fly about even in rain. In battle, it flaps its wings at high speed to release highly toxic dust in the air. _

_Houndour, The Dark Pokemon, It is smart enough to hunt in packs. It uses different kinds of cries for communicating with others of its kind and for pursuing its prey. _

"I see." Sakura said to herself. "Go Cherubi."

Now that all the pokemon were present the referee began the match.

"Beedrill, twin needle!" Gray ordered.

"Butterfree, tackle!" Kris shouted.

"Sakura, I'll handle this, I have the advantage. But you have Cherubi use helping hand on Houndour to raise his attack." Sasuke spoke.

Sakura nodded. "Cherubi, use helping hand."

Cherubi jumped over and patted Houndour, Houndour suddenly roared ferociously.

"Houndour, use Howl!" Sasuke ordered.

Houndour roared even louder. "Now use leer!" Houndour glared at Beedrill and Butterfree, both stopped in their movements.

"Use Ember on Beedrill!" Sasuke shouted.

Fire shot out of Houndour's mouth and hit Beedrill dead on. With it's enhanced strength and Beedrill's lowered defense it was a one hit knock out.

"Cherubi, use leech seed on Butterfree." Sakura spoke. Cherubi complied and shot seeds at Butterfree which released vines and entangled it. "There Sasuke, Butterfree is weaker and can't move as well, finish it now!"

Sasuke nodded. "Houndour, use ember again on Butterfree!"

Fire once again shot out of Houndour's mouth, it hit Butterfree, which seemed to have a little strength left after the attack, however, it's remaining strength was sapped away by leech seed and Butterfree promptly fainted.

"Sasuke and Sakura are the winners and move on to the second round." The referee spoke.

Sasuke returned his pokemon and walked away. While Sakura thanked Kris and Gray for a good match.

"Your Houndour's strong, Sasuke." Naruto spoke. The match was over quicker than expected.

"They underestimated us. They got what they deserved." Sasuke responded.

"Well looks like that's it for you, you can't compete in the last to matches cause you only got one pokemon." Naruto smiled.

Sasuke smirked in return. "You think all I did was train last night. I caught a new pokemon as well." He finished and walked away, the next match was starting.

**-Break-**

Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura sat with Kiba, Shino and Hinata. They had also been sent through to the next round.

"I got to get me a Houndour as well!" Kiba spoke loudly in awe at Sasuke.

Sasuke looked away. He didn't care what Kiba had to say.

"L-Look, Ino and Shikamaru beat their opponents." Hinata said, pointing to the screen.

"Well, looks like we all go through but we are going to win." Kiba said happily.

"We should prepare for our next match." Shino spoke. "That Lyra and Sylvar are strong, no doubt there third teammate is as well, I will battle them, why? Because I willingly stepped aside to let you two battle, it is only fair I fight next, but who will fight against them with me in the next round?"

"I will!" Kiba immediately responded. "Me and Akamaru will take down anything they got!"

"What about our match? That May and Brendan seem strong as well." Sakura spoke. "Naruto will have to take part in the next round, but do you want to go with him?"

"You go with him Sakura, If we go through the competition will be tougher, so me and Naruto will make a better combination then." Sasuke responded.

"Okay then." Sakura smiled.

The final match of the first round ended the PA went off again.

":That concludes the first round, the next round's matches will go as follows:

Ethan, Lyra and Sylvar

vs.

Kiba, Shino and Hinata

Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura

vs.

Brendan, May and Wally

Garvey, Kim and Lew

vs.

Rhed, Leef and Blu

Shikamaru, Ino and Choji

vs.

Dawn, Lucas and Barry

Will the first two teams head to the field, thank you."

"Well looks like it's us." Kiba spoke as he and his team walked to the field.

Naruto sat quiet. He was still nervous, would he lose this match as well. What his dad said had helped encourage him, but he still felt as though he was going to be a burden. He was pulled out by his train of thought by Sakura, he didn't realise how long he was thinking about it.

"Shino and Kiba are getting beaten bad." Sakura spoke as she watched the opposing team dominate the match.

"It's over for them." Sasuke said bluntly. "You and Naruto should get ready."

Sakura sighed. Why couldn't Sasuke be a little more caring. He wasn't wrong though, as the match concluded in Ethan and Lyra's favour.

The PA went off again.

":Would Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, Brendan, May and Wally please enter the field."

**-Break-**

Naruto and Sakura stood, facing their opponents.

"Starly, go!" Naruto shouted.

"Cherubi, now!" Sakura shouted.

Both sprang ready for action.

Their opponents, Brendan and Wally, threw their pokeballs as well. With a flash a Treecko and a Ralts appeared.

_Treecko, The Wood Gecko Pokemon, It makes its nest in a giant tree in the forest. It ferociously guards against anything nearing its territory. It is said to be the protector of the forest's trees. _

_Ralts, The Feeling Pokemon, Ralts has the ability to sense the emotions of people. If its trainer is in a cheerful mood, this pokemon grows cheerful and joyous in the same way._

Naruto and Sakura, put away their pokedexes.

"Sakura, I'll deal with the Treecko, you focus on the Ralts, okay." Naruto said.

"BEGIN!" Te referee exclaimed.

"Starly, use quick attack!" Naruto shouted.

"Treecko dodge and use pound." Brendan spoke, his Treecko did so easily.

'I need to slow it down.' Naruto thought to himself, fortunately Sakura thought so too.

"Cherubi, use leech seed on Treecko will it's airbourne." Sakura yelled. Cherubi complied and lauched seeds at Treecko, which hit it's target, becoming entangled.

"Thanks Sakura." Naruto smiled.

"It's okay." Sakura replied. "Cherubi, use tackle on Ralts."

Cherubi charged forwards hitting its target.

"Starly, use quick attack on Treecko." Naruto shouted, Starly sped forward, hitting Treecko, which was then sapped by leech seed.

"Treecko, use Bullet seed!" Brendan shouted.

"Ralts, growl!" Wally shouted too.

Treecko launched a flurry of seeds from it's mouth. Starly dodged them.

"Starly, finish Treecko off with wing attack!" Naruto yelled. Starly swooped in and attacked, it was super effective, Treecko fell down and fainted.

"Cherubi use tackle again." Sakura exclaimed, Cherubi followed the orders and hit Ralts again, Ralts too fell down and fainted.

"Treecko and Ralts cannot continue. Naruto and Sakura are the victors!" The referee called.

"Yes!" Naruto shouted in glee, his first win, now he was level with his wins and losses.

Sakura had once again gone and thanked Brendan and Wally for a good math, Naruto however was too busy dancing around to care.

**-Break-**

The team was watching the screen sadly, Ino and Choji put up a good fight, but Dawn and Barry seemed to out maneuver them every time. The match was over after a long struggle. They were the last team of rookies from the academy left.

"Me and Sakura will go next." Sasuke spoke. "The final match will be the toughest, I suspect we will be facing Rhed, Leef and Blu then. They are the strongest competition. Me and Naruto will take care of them."

"How are you so sure that we will go through, Ethan, Lyra and Sylvar are strong too." Sakura spoke quietly.

"Because I am expecting to win this whole thing, the more wins under our belts the better." Sasuke retaliated.

"Sasuke's right, Sakura, we should aim to win." Naruto agreed.

":Attention. The 2nd round is now over, we will begin with the semifinals. As of now each trainer will use 2 pokemon in a double battle, no substitutions are allowed. The semifinal matches are:

Ethan, Lyra and Sylvar

vs.

Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura

Rhed, Leef and Blu

vs.

Dawn, Lucas and Barry

The first match will begin momentarily please prepare."

"Let's go." Sasuke spoke. As he walked to the field. Naruto decided to stay behind to get some last minute training in.

**-Break-**

Naruto returned to see Sasuke and Sakura watching the screen. Rhed and Blu seemed to have just won their last match. He was glad he got that training in, because he wasn't sure if he could beat this team.

"Sup guys, how did it go?" Naruto asked.

"We won." Sasuke responded quickly.

"We faced Sylvar and Ethan, they brought out a Cyndaquil and a Totodile, but Sasuke's Houndour and my Sentret handled it, then they brought out a Mareep and a Wooper, but we handled them too, though it was a very narrow victory." Sakura filled Naruto in on the details.

"Who cares, how narrow it was, a victory's a victory, Naruto get ready were battling together next." Sasuke spoke.

"You've been watching this match intently Sasuke-kun." Sakura spoke.

"I'm trying to figure out Rhed, Blu and Leef's strategy. They're good, we'll need an large amount of planning, skill and luck to beat them." Sasuke responded.

"What have you found out?" Naruto questioned, he needed the details as well.

"Nothing, they change their plans and ways to attack every match. I know that Rhed owns a Charmander, Leef owns a Bulbasaur and Blu owns a Squirtle. Those are the only pokemon they've used this entire tournament. Leef will be taking part next, so with you're Starly and my pokemon we have an advantage their, but I don't know what her other pokemon are and which of her teammates she is teaming up with."

":Would the last two teams enter the field please, thank you." The PA went off again.

**-Break-**

"This is the final match of the tournament, in the green corner we have Naruto and Sasuke and in the red corner we have Leef and Rhed. This is a two-on-two doubles match, no substitutions. BEGIN!" The referee shouted.

Leef and Rhed sent out their Bulbasaur and Charmander.

_Bulbasaur, The Seed Pokemon, Bulbasaur can be seen napping in bright sunlight. There is a seed on its back. By soaking up the sun's rays, the seed grows progressively larger. _

_Charmander, The Lizard Pokemon, The flame on its tail shows the strength of its life force. If it is weak, the flame also burns weakly. _

"As expected." Sasuke spoke calmly, putting away his pokedex. "Naruto use Starly to fight Bulbasaur, with Houndour's flash fire ability Charmander shouldn't be a problem for it."

"Right." Naruto agreed. "Go Starly!"

"Houndour, battle!"

"Houndour start off with howl!"

"Starly, growl!"

Both pokemon obeyed the orders. Enhancing Houndour's own strength and lowering their foes attack.

"Starly, attack Bulbasaur with wing attack!"

"Houndour, Leer!"

Houndour glared again, lowering the foes defense. Starly charged and hit Bulbasaur, which responded with a vine whip, hitting Starly dead on. Charmander cast an ember at Starly. But Houndour stood in front of the flames, absorbing them and making them ineffective.

"Houndour, use bite!"

Houndour locked it's jaw onto Charmander making it flinch. "Houndour, follow up with smog!" Houndour released a poisonous fog right in Charmander's face, Charmander became poisoned, it wasn't surprising.

"Starly, quick attack then follow up with wing attack!"

Starly complied and struck Bulbasaur with both hits, effectively knocking it out, after one last bite from Houndour Charmander succumbed to the poison and fainted.

Rhed and Leef returned their pokemon before throwing new ones, it revealed a Geodude and a Gastly.

Naruto and Sasuke pulled out their pokedexes again.

_Geodude, The Rock Pokemon, It uses its arms to steadily climb steep mountain paths. It swings its fists around if angered. _

_Gastly, The Gas Pokemon, Its body is made of gas. Despite lacking substance, it can envelop an opponent of any size and cause suffocation. _

"I'm willing to bet that that Geodude knows a strong ground type attack and they plan to use Gastly's levitate ability to dodge it. Plus I bet it knows rock throw to take down Starly." Sasuke calculated.

He was right, the Geodude activated a Magnitude attack. It was super effective against Houndour and knocked it out. Gastly used a Hypnosis on Starly, putting it to sleep, followed by Geodude using rock throw promptly knocked Starly out as well. Sasuke and Naruto returned their pokemon to their pokeballs.

"Sasuke, I'll deal with Gastly, Shinx learned a new move that can easily deal with it. I hope whatever you got spare can defeat Geodude." Naruto spoke.

Sasuke smirked. "I was about to say the same thing." He said as he pulled out a new pokeball, he threw it into the air. It opened and revealed an angry looking fish, with a red belly and blue top, a yellow star also on its stomach."

_Carvanha, The Savage Pokemon, They swarm any foe that invades their territory. Their sharp fangs can tear out boat hulls. _

"A Carvanha! Where did you get that?" Naruto asked, putting his pokedex away.

"The sea is to the west of this town." Sasuke answered. "I went to the docks their and waited for a pokemon to appear. A blue man helped me catch it."

"A blue man? Whatever, we have the advantage so let's win this thing!" Naruto exclaimed. "Shinx use bite on Gastly!"

"Carvanha, water gun on Geodude."

Both pokemon hit their targets, causing super effective hits, Gastly and Geodude attempted to counter with their own attacks. However Carvanha activated scary face, slowing them down dramatically. The battle continues with Shinx using bite on Gastly and Carvanha using water gun on Geodude, constantly making super effective hits. Rhed and Leef had no openings for counter attacks and were forced to watch as their pokemon were beaten easily by the combination of the other two trainers.

"Geodude and Gastly are unable to battle, which means Naruto and Sasuke are the winners of the tournament." The referee concluded.

Sasuke smirked and Naruto jumped in joy. After everything they went through, the tournament was still a great experience.

**-Break-**

"Congratulations to Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke, for winning this year's rookie tournament." The referee spoke, gaining applause all the spectators. "As customary for the winner's we give each of the team members an unique pokemon." He finished as Nurse Joy appeared with three pokeballs, sitting comfortably on a pillow. Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke picked one up each and threw the ball into the air. With a flash of light each pokeball revealed a small brown pokemon, with large ears and a white furry collar.

"Eevee!" They chimed happily.

* * *

A/N: So there we have it. First time writing battles, it being a tournament was even harder, so I know it got a little repetitive. How did you like the previous generation protagonists making a cameo appearance. Pronunciation of their names Sylvar (Silver), Rhed (Red), Leef (Leaf) and Blu (Blue) obviously.

Don't know when the next chapter is, cause i got planning for A complete family, incomplete to do, plus college work, plus plans for a Minato centric story to start. So til next time.

Rinne-Kami has left the building.


	3. Akatsuki, Roark and Kakashi

A/N: Hello everyone and welcome to chapter three of To Become A Master. A funny story, the amount of time it took me to write this was about 15 hours, but I procrastinated a hella lot. So it ended up me taking this long to write the chapter. Well that's all I have to say.

Disclaimer: Must I really do a disclaimer all the time, I'm never gonna own

* * *

The team was currently on their way to Jublife, their new Eevees were a welcome member of their team, they now had seven choices for a new type to add to their team. They began talking about what evolution they would have their Eevee evolve to, Sasuke new what his was going to be. But Naruto and Sakura was as certain as he was.

"Congratulations to you, Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura." A unknown voice resounded from nowhere. "The rookie tournament is never easy to win". Sakura, Naruto and Sasuke searched around for the source of the voice. They all came to the conclusion that it came from the tree in front of their path.

That was only a half truth. A peculiar looking man stepped out from behind the tree. His head covered with short, moss green hair. His pupil less yellow eyes were calm. The right side of his entire body was covered in pitch black body paint, while the left side was covered with white body paint, white like a blank canvas. He wore a black cloak with a red interior, the collar was chin high and closed. The cloak was adorned with red clouds. Underneath the cloak he seemed to wear another shirt, with a much larger green collar, the edges of which were spiked, as if trying to imitate a Venus flytrap going around his head.

"You." Sasuke spoke first. "Why are you wearing the same cloak as that blue man?"

Flashback

Sasuke stood on the pier, overlooking the see, he was waiting for a water type pokemon. He knew that the first gym had a rock type specialism, so right now he was at a disadvantage.

"What you doing kid?" A voice from behind him said.

Sasuke turned and saw a huge man, with blue skin and bluer hair. He had small round eyes, that seemed slightly bloodshot. He wore a black cloak, with peculiar red clouds on it.

"Waiting for a water type pokemon to appear." Sasuke bluntly stated, returning to looking out to sea.

"Well you're never going to find anything by just standing there." The man said, reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a small red cube, the cube smelled of meat and blood. "Here take this and drop it in the water, it dissolves instantly. It's a special food that attracts Carvanha, they look scary, but Carvanha are ferocious and strong." The man finished as he walked away.

Flashback end

"Oh, so I see you met Kisame, well Sasuke, this cloak is the mark of an Akatsuki member, I'm Zetsu by the way." Zetsu stated.

Sasuke's eyes went wide, this was the second Akatsuki member he met, two members of the same organization that his brother was in.

"Akatsuki? What's Akatsuki?" Naruto asked, he had heard little snippets of information, but never enough to get a proper explanation.

"Akatsuki is a group of ten Pokemon Trainers, we are the best of the best, there is probably only one person who could possibly have a chance at defeating us. Once a trainer believes he is ready he can begin to challenge Akatsuki for the honour of winning the ten symbols from us, the symbol given is the same as the one we have on the ring on our finger, for instance, mine is the Boar symbol. However there are no exceptions, to obtain the symbol you must defeat us single-handedly, no help, no ties, no cheating."

"So what happens if you get all ten symbols?" Naruto asked again.

"You are recognized as the strongest trainer ever, the ten symbols together reveal the location of a legendary pokemon, however it is nearly impossible to win all ten symbols, many of the members have never been beaten." Zetsu smirked.

"Never been beaten." Naruto repeated the last part to himself softly.

"ENOUGH!" Sasuke shouted. "Zetsu, you will tell me where Itachi is, I need to defeat him!"

Zetsu didn't seem fazed by Sasuke's shouting at him. Zetsu chuckled softly, then began laughing loud.

"I have know idea where he is." Zetsu confessed. "Akatsuki members have no set location, we are constantly wandering around the region, half the challenge is finding each member. Besides you have no chance of defeating Itachi anyway."

"What did you say!" Sasuke spoke through his teeth with repressed rage. "I could destroy you in a battle if I wanted to!"

Zetsu chuckled to himself again. "Very well." He said calmly. "Prove it."

**-Break-**

Sasuke stood trembling with anger as he looked at his opponent, who was remarkably calm. "It will be a one-on-one battle." Zetsu smirked.

Sasuke reached for his pokeball, he had no idea what pokemon Zetsu would use, so he would just go with his strongest. "Go, Houndour!"

Zetsu continued with his confident smirk, he reached for his own pokeball. "Victreebel, go."

Sasuke opened his pokedex, to scan the new pokemon.

_Victreebel, The Flycatcher Pokemon, This horrifying plant Pokemon attracts prey with aromatic honey, then melts them in its mouth. _

Sasuke smirked, he had the advantage of type.

"Houndour, use bite!"

Houndour charged towards the Victreebel, intent on chomping down on it.

"Victreebel, sleep powder." Zetsu spoke calmly.

The powder released from Victreebel, Houndour's speed began slowing, it's eyes were closing shut, it eventually collapsed midway towards it's target. Sasuke panicked when Houndour hit the floor.

"Now use wring out."

The vine on the back of Victreebel extended and wrapped around Houndour, squeezing it tightly, Houndour's eyes opened wide with pain, before closing again, it had fainted. Zetsu recalled his Victreebel back it it's pokeball.

"Don't get ahead of yourself Sasuke, you still have a long way to go, after all Itachi is the fourth highest ranking member of Akatsuki, you will need a lot more power than what you have now." Zetsu had finished with them. He began to walk away.

"What rank are you?" Sasuke asked, downhearted, his zealous nature from moments ago had disappeared.

"Third." Was Zetsus only reply. He continued on his way, leaving the children there.

**-Break-**

The rest of the journey to Oreburgh was silent, no one knew how to break the new layer of ice the recently transpired events had made. As soon as they arrived in Oreburgh Sasuke split from Naruto and Sakura, stating that he had his own business to attend too, Sakura followed him away, leaving Naruto alone.

Naruto walked into the pokemon centre, at this minute he was at a disadvantage against the first gym leader, Roark, Shinx had little effect against rock types and Starly was weak against them, Eevee knew dig so that would be a big help, but he couldn't expect his newest pokemon to do all the battling by itself.

'Wait.' Naruto thought. 'The pokemon dad was gonna give me, he said it wasn't electric, so it might be a type that's strong against them.' He thought as he ran to the video phones in the centre.

"_Hi Naruto. Phoning home already are you, it's so sweet that you're worried I might be lonely." Kushina said on the screen._

"Er..Yeah, good to know you're okay mom, but listen dad told me that he had a pokemon that he wanted to give me, he said to either phone you or him if I ever needed it." Naruto replied.

"_Oh, well, okay then." Kushina spoke, she seemed slightly more depressed._

"What pokemon is it?" Naruto asked.

"_You're father said that it was no big deal, just a Turtwig." Kushina answered._

Naruto raised an eyebrow in disbelief. "Mom. I need that Turtwig."

"_Oh, okay, let me just send it over." Kushina said as she left the screen she appeared a few moments later, pressing some buttons._

A ball appeared next to the screen Naruto was standing in front of. Naruto picked it up. "Thanks mom, now I can beat Roark for sure." Naruto smiled wide.

"_Glad to help." Kushina smiled in return, the hung up._

Naruto looked at the pokeball, scanning his pokedex over it.

_Turtwig, The Tiny leaf Pokemon, It undertakes photosynthesis with its body, making oxygen. The leaf on its head wilts if it is thirsty. _

'I should get to work training this.' Naruto thought as he darted out of the pokemon centre, he headed towards the Oreburgh mine, they say it is filed with rock type pokemon, perfect for training grass type pokemon like Turtwig.

**-Break-**

"Turtwig, use absorb!" Naruto shouted, Turtwig obeyed and performed absorb, taking the last of the energy out of the wild Geodude's body making it faint.

"All right!" Naruto pinched the air. "You've gotten so strong so fast, Turtwig, Roark won't stand a chance!"

"Turtwig!" Turtwig nodded in agreement.

"Idiot, there you are." Naruto turned to see Sasuke walking towards him. "Sakura made me look for you, she was getting worried."

"Oh thanks for your concern Sasuke." Naruto returned sarcastically.

"Whose Turtwig is that?" Sasuke asked.

"It's mine, my dad gave it to me." Naruto replied quickly. "Did you get the business you wanted to do done?" Naruto asked.

Sasuke smirked and reached it his pocket and produced his badge case, with a snap it opened. Leaving Naruto in utter shock.

"You went and got your first badge! No fair!" Naruto shouted, he felt cheated that Sasuke went secretly to get his gym badge.

"Yeah, with this I am one step closer to defeating Itachi, and then all of Akatsuki." Sasuke stated, after his battle with Zetsu, he vowed he would defeat all of the Akatsuki, proving he was the strongest trainer in the world.

"Why are you so obsessed with beating your brother?" Naruto asked confused, Volkner had never done anything so bad to him that all he wanted was to defeat him. "I mean, what could he have possibly done to make you act this way."

Sasuke seemed to tense, perhaps Naruto was the only one who could possibly understand. "Because, all my life, no one saw me as Sasuke. I was always known as Itachi's little brother, someone who could be compared to the pokemon master of the world. I was always in his shadow, no one acknowledged my achievements without comparing them to Itachi's, even my parents did it. That's why I need to defeat him, to prove to everyone that I am not Itachi, I am my own person." Sasuke finished, not once did he stop looking at the ground when he told Naruto his story, that itself he found weird, he never spoke about this to anyone, how did Naruto suddenly make him open up?

Naruto stood a little confused, but he did understand, back home he was always the champion's son. Someone who everyone expected to be just like his father. Then his brother became a trainer and began making a name for himself, pushing more pressure on Naruto, having to live up to two people's reputations, but he never got angry at it, he strived to prove that he and his dad and brother had different styles and that they could never be the same.

"That was deep, Sasuke." Naruto said, patting the black haired boy on the shoulder.

Sasuke just nodded.

"But it's interesting." Naruto began with a smile. "I always thought that under that scowl there was a very angry boy." He confessed.

"But now I know that under that scowl there's a crying little girl desperate for attention." Naruto laughed hard.

Sasuke's head shot up and he looked at Naruto darkly. Naruto smiled nervously. "Well, time for me to get my gym badge." Naruto spoke as he began walking off at a fast pace.

"Naruto, get back here!" Sasuke shouted angrily as he ran after Naruto, who also began sprinting away. Desperate to get to the gym and to get away from Sasuke.

**-Break-**

"SAFE!" Naruto exclaimed as he ran through the doors of the Oreburgh gym. Sasuke wouldn't make a big scene in a gym.

"So are you my next challenger?" A man with red-brown hair and a orange helmet on, from across the gym. "At least you seem like a fun trainer, but I shall see if you're strong. I am Roark the Rock."

"Oh Hi, I am Naruto Namikaze, and yes, I will be battling you next!" Naruto spoke, quite excited for his first match.

"Namikaze." Roark repeated.

"Yeah, why?" Naruto asked, he knew why, but he was worried that Roark was just gonna give him a badge because he is the champion's son.

"It's nothing." Roark returned. "We shall have a three-on-three battle, no time limit, no substitutions."

"Okay!" Naruto shouted. "I'll start with Shinx."

"Shinx!" Shinx called as it entered the field.

Roark chuckled slightly. "Geodude, Go."

In a flash Geodude appeared. "I'll have the first move." Roark spoke. "Use tackle." Geodude ran at Shinx and successfully hit it, sending Shinx backwards.

"Shinx get up!" Naruto shouted, Shinx responded and got up, releasing a growl as it did so. Suddenly, Shinx's body began glowing white, eventually Shinx was engulfed in the light. When the light disappeared, a larger blue cat was in it's place.

"Did Shinx just evolve." Naruto asked himself as he pulled out his pokedex.

_Luxio, The Spark Pokemon, Strong electricity courses through the tips of its sharp claws. A light scratch causes fainting in foes._

Luxio roared loud, Geodude seemed a little taken back. "That must be the intimidate ability." Naruto said. "Luxio, use bite!" Luxio complied and bit down on Geodude hard, it seemed to do a lot of damage.

"Follow it with leer!" Luxio glared hard at Geodude.

"Now use bite again!"

"Geodude, dodge it and use tackle." Roark commanded, Geodude managed to move out the way of the bite and hit against Luxio.

"Quick Luxio now that Geodude's close use bite!" Naruto shouted. Luxio bit down on Geodude again, which was more than Geodude could bear and fainted.

Roark returned Geodude. "Don't get overconfident." He spoke, reaching for a new pokeball. "Go Onix!" A massive snake made out of rock appeared, Naruto had already fought a few Onix while training Turtwig, but this Onix seemed a lot stronger than any of them.

"Onix, use wrap!"

The Onix wrapped itself around Luxio, crushing it slightly.

"Luxio get out there!" Naruto shouted in a pleading way.

Luxio began biting and headbutting the Onix's body, but it was having very little effect.

"Onix, use tackle." Roark spoke, Onix threw Luxio into the air the collided it's head with it, sending Luxio flying across the gym. Luxio hit the wall with some force and fell to the ground.

"Finish it off with rock throw."

Onix hurled it's tail at Luxio, which made a strong impact. Luxio was unable to move at all.

"Thanks for that Luxio, you did real good." Naruto returned Luxio to it's ball and smiled, it was time for his next pokemon. "Turtwig, let's beat this thing!"

Turtwig appeared ready for a fight.

"Onix use tackle!" The large rock snake moved towards Turtwig, which stood confidently.

"Turtwig use withdraw!" Naruto commanded, Turtwig went back into it's shell raising it's defense, Onix struck Turtwig, yet it did little damage.

"Turtwig now you use tackle." Naruto shouted, Turtwig now speeding towards Onix.

"Onix dodge." Roark said, the large Onix managing to move out the way of Turtwig's attack.

"Onix, use wrap." Onix wrapped itself around Turtwig, which put up more resistance than Luxio.

"Turtwig now use absorb!" Turtwig began draining Onix of it's energy, it had a major affect as Onix let go of Turtwig.

"Now Turtwig use absorb again!" Turtwig once again drained Onix's energy, this time, however, it was the last of Onix's energy, causing Onix to fall over, knocked out.

Roark returned Onix and thanked it for putting up a great fight, however it was time to move to his last and strongest pokemon. "Go, Cranidos!" Roark yelled, as a gray dinosaur like creature with a blue skull with horns protruding around it. Naruto reached for his pokedex, he had never even heard of a Cranidos.

_Cranidos, The Head Butt Pokemon, A lifelong jungle dweller from 100 million years ago, it would snap obstructing trees with head butts. _

'So this is an extinct pokemon, he must have restored it from a fossil' Naruto thought, it didn't matter, he would win this battle, he was one pokemon up and had the advantage of type.

"Turtwig use tackle!" Turtwig charged at Cranidos, it collided with Cranidos hard, but Cranidos barely moved backwards.

"Turtwig follow up with absorb!" Turtwig began to sap the energy out of Cranidos.

"Don't get cocky Naruto, Cranidos jump up!" Roark shouted. Cranidos successfully jumped high into the air.

"Cranidos focus energy!" Cranidos began glowing from the energy it was containing in it's body.

"Now Cranidos move into a headbutt!" Roark shouted. Cranidos began diving headfirst towards the ground, more specifically Turtwig.

"Turtwig quick, use withdraw!" Naruto yelled, Turtwig managed to retract back into it's shell, but it didn't stop Cranidos' attack, it smashed directly on top of Turtwig. Even with Turtwig's heightened defense, it still caused a lot of damage.

"Cranidos pursuit!" Cranidos followed up on the previous attack, moving at a high speed towards Turtwig.

"Turtwig, dodge!" Turtwig moved to the left, out of the attacks way.

"Cranidos use pursuit again!" Cranidos quickly changed it's direction of movement and struck Turtwig hard.

"Turtwig try another absorb!" Turtwig recovered quickly and began trying to suck the energy out of Cranidos again.

"Cranidos dodge it!" Cranidos complied and successfully moved out of the attack's path.

"Cranidos finish with headbutt!" Cranidos charged at Turtwig one final time, Turtwig was caught in the middle of it's own attack and struck by Cranidos' iron hard head, taking the last remaining energy out of Turtwig, Turtwig collapsed onto the floor, fainting.

Naruto recalled Turtwig, the pokemon with the advantage against the gym was defeated, despite Cranidos controlling most of the match, Turtwig dealt it a fair bit of damage, if Turtwig was at it's full strength it might have won, but now all his hopes rested on his last pokemon.

"Go, Eevee!" Naruto shouted, inwardly he was a little worried, this would be Eevee's first battle.

Eevee appeared, ready for the battle.

"Well Naruto this has been a fun battle, no matter what happens e should do it again sometime." Roark spoke kindly with a smile.

"You got it." Naruto replied with a smile of his own.

"Eevee, start with quick attack!" Eevee sped fast at Cranidos, hitting it and knocking Cranidos off balance.

"Eevee now use tail whip!" Eevee whacked Cranidos with it's tail, the attack really did nothing, confusing Cranidos, lowering it's guard.

"Eevee use another tail whip!" Eevee once again tried to hit Cranidos with it's tail again. Roark, however, was having none of it.

"Cranidos dodge it now!"

"Cranidos pursuit!" Cranidos attacked Eevee with some force, Eevee cried out as it was sent across the gym.

"Cranidos attack again with headbutt!" Cranidos charged headfirst at Eevee again.

"Eevee dodge it!" Eevee moved out of the attacks way.

"Now Eevee, dig!" Eevee obeyed and dug under the ground. Everything went silent as Roark and Cranidos began searching for any signs of where Eevee was planning to rise from. Eevee suddenly burst out of the ground directly below Cranidos, striking it under the head, sending Cranidos up into the air. Cranidos fell back to the ground hard, creating a layer of debris lingering in the air. When the air cleared it revealed Cranidos unconscious.

"Cranidos can no longer fight therefore the winner of the battle is Naruto!"

"Yes! We did it Eevee!" Naruto yelled in glee and jumped into the air.

"Eevee!" Eevee returned to it;s trainer, just as glad it one it's first battle ever.

Roark had returned Cranidos to it's pokeball and began walking towards Naruto, who stopped jumping around and looked at him.

"That was a splendid match Naruto, in recognition of your victory here at the Oreburgh gym, I offer you the Coal Badge." Roark spoke first, extending his hand out, a shiny brown coloured badge lay in the middle of his hand.

"Thanks Roark." Naruto smiled as he took the badge and placed it in his previously empty badge case.

"I suggest you take your pokemon to the pokemon centre, they all look exhausted." Roark laughed.

"Yeah I should, well I best be going." Naruto smiled as he headed for the door, completely forgetting the danger that remained outside.

**-Break-**

"So Sunyshore's gym leader finally retired then, eh." A man with long spiky silver hair, which seemed to be defying gravity spoke to himself as he listened to the TV newscaster. The man wore a dark blue mask that covered the bottom half of his face. He sat quite comfortably in the pokemon centre.

The door suddenly opened and the sound of a boy apologizing appeared. He turned to see that it was his target. The boy appeared with large bruises on his face, he was accompanied by another boy with black spiked hair and a severely angry look on his face, a girl with bubblegum pink hair approached them and began complaining about worrying where they were, the blonde boy began bragging about beating the first gym leader and that once he healed his pokemon they could leave for Floaroma town, for the girl's pokemon contest.

"_Kakashi, travel with Naruto and his friends for awhile, will you, I'm worried about him, he easily brings unwanted attention to himself, but don't tell him I asked you to, that'll just get him mad"_

Kakashi watched the boy get his pokemon healed and leave the pokemon centre with his friends, he got up and followed them out.

**-Break-**

"So how do we get to Floaroma?" Sasuke asked.

"You need rock smash to get through the cave, north of Jublife." A voice appeared behind them, it came from a man wearing a mask, only his left eye could be seen of his facial features and that looked incredibly bored. His hair was silver and was defying gravity. "One of my pokemon has rock smash, if you want, I can get you to Floaroma." The man said.

"And who are you?" Sasuke said, not liking this total stranger jumping into their conversation.

"Name's Kakashi." The man said with a small wave and judging by the way his eye clenched shut, a smile.

"Well, Kakashi, my dad told me to never talk to people I don't know, I think it counts even more as I can't see almost all of your face." Naruto said accusingly.

"Then Minato taught you right, Naruto." Kakashi spoke in return, shocking Naruto.

"How do you know my name and who my dad is?" Naruto asked, quite scared at this Kakashi's knowledge of him.

"I know someone who knows Minato, apparently he speaks quite highly of you." Kakashi spoke with boredom in his voice.

'Dad speaks highly about me' Naruto thought to himself. "Well that aside I still don't trust you. We don't know what you're capable of." Naruto spoke pointing a finger at Kakashi.

"Then how about a battle, you can even team up with one of your little friends." Kakashi offered, still seemingly bored of the conversation.

"Fine then." Sasuke retaliated. "Naruto, we'll beat this guy and get going to Floaroma."

"Alright then." Naruto said.

"Go Carvanha!" Sasuke shouted.

"Luxio, Go!" Naruto yelled as well.

"Shinx evolved?" Sakura said from behind them.

"Yep, pretty cool huh?"

Kakashi coughed, gaining their attention. "Ditto, Sudowoodo, Go."

"A Sudowoodo and a Ditto" Sakura said, all three of them bringing out their pokedexes.

_Ditto, The Transform Pokemon, It has the ability to reconstitute its entire cellular structure to transform into whatever it sees. _

_Sudowoodo, The Imitation Pokemon, To avoid being attacked, it does nothing but mimic a tree. It hates water and flees from rain._

"Let's go Naruto! Carvanha use bite on Ditto!" Sasuke started the match, Carvanha speeding towards Ditto.

"Luxio use bite on Sudowoodo!" Naruto shouted. Luxio also charged forwards.

"Ditto, transform into Luxio!" Kakashi ordered. Ditto transformed into the exact copy of Luxio. "Now use spark on Carvanha."

'Luxio' complied and charged an electric attack, striking Carvanha before it could reach it. The attack was super effective and dealt a great deal of damage on Carvanha.

"Now Sudowoodo, use Earth power on Luxio." Kakashi poke, his voice never changing from it's bored tone.

The Earth power attack struck and instantly knock Luxio out with a super effective hit.

'To knock out Naruto's Luxio in one hit. Just how strong is this guy' Sasuke thought as he watched what had just transpired.

"Sudowoodo, now use hammer arm on Carvanha." Kakashi commanded. Sudowoodo ran towards Carvanha and swinging it's rock hard arm downwards on Carvanha, knocked it out too with a super effective hit.

Naruto and Sasuke lost. Kakashi just returned his pokemon to their pokeballs and walked up to the trio. With a sigh he pulled out a badge case, inside was a complete set of 8 gym badges. It left the three completely awestruck.

"See, now you know what I can do, so what do you say, you what my help or not." Kakashi spoke.

"You really have all 8 badges." Naruto gaped at the badge case.

"And defeated the 5 Kages." Kakashi spoke with a smile. "Couldn't beat you're dad though, he's insanely strong, but I also got this if it counts for anything." Kakashi said as he finished through his bag, revealing another, albeit slightly larger case, when he opened it, it revealed a small badge like object, it was dark green with the symbol for North on it.

"What is it?" Naruto asked the question all three of them were thinking.

"It's an Akatsuki symbol." Kakashi admitted nonchalantly.

"You defeated a member of Akatsuki! Which one was it?" Sasuke shouted in shock. Not only had he lost to an Akatsuki member, he lost to someone who beat an Akatsuki member. If Zetsu's was the Boar symbol, this one might be Itachi's.

"His name was Kakuzu. One of the hardest battle's I ever fought." Kakashi admitted again.

"That's it guy, you're hired!" Naruto yelled ecstatically. "You will officially become our Sensei, teach us everything there is about defeat the 5 Kages and the Akatsuki!"

Kakashi didn't mind Naruto ordering him around, in fact he found it rather amusing, he was nothing like Minato-sensei. "Very well, let's get to Floaroma then, I also want to teach your Luxio a stronger Electric technique if you don't mind." Kakashi spoke with his eye smile.

"So cool!" Could be heard as Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura and their new teacher Kakashi began their trek towards back to Jublife, and eventually to Floaroma town and Sakura's first contest.

* * *

A/N: Well chapter three done and dusted. I can't think of any antagonists for the story so if you got any ideas about that let me know. Also any idea about which pokemon Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura should get, although Sasuke must have a Fire or Dark type and not Charmander, you'll find out why soon enough. I finished ACFI chapter as well but I'm just going over it again, to make sure everything's fine.

Well till next time.

Rinne-Kami, ho!


	4. Omake 1

**A/N:** Hello and welcome to the Omake chapter, well it's not really an omake cause it does progress the story, but anyway. I should begin by saying sorry for not updating for a while. You see my computer died, literally, we needed a new one. So I could update until we got a new one, then I had to go into rehabilitation to regain the will to type. And here we are. Now I've been reading my reviews and my PM's and decided I should answer a few of them.

**Master of the RedSand** asks: _you forgot about the sanin._ Well technically I didn't if everyone could read back to when Minato was comforting Naruto on his loss. He describes a man with white hair peeping on girls. Sound familiar. The Sanin just haven't got a major role yet, but don't worry they will be epic.

Many people ask: _Could you add generation V pokemon_. You see I don't want to add Gen V pokemon cause I don't know their english names. So I'd be constantly forgetting who was who. But you know the customer is always right so I did my homework and research and for one chapter only (this chapter) Generation V Pokemon will make an appearance! *que crowd cheering sound*

Few people ask: _Can you have a champion make an appearance._ If any champion's gonna show up it's Steven. He was bad ass.

Well that's it. Lets get on with the show!

* * *

"Hmm. Getting through the cave took longer than I thought." Kakashi mused as he looked up to the orange sky. "It's nearly nightfall. I think we set up camp for the night. It will take us a day to get to Floaroma anyway." Kakashi suggested.

The sound of relieved sighs filled Kakashi's ears. He turned and saw the children already sitting down. He didn't know why they were exhausted. Sudowoodo did all the work getting through the cave.

"I don't know why you're relaxing." Kakashi spoke. "We still need food, water and firewood. It will be easier and faster if we split up and collect them."

"Fine." Sasuke groaned out. "I'll go look for berries. Naruto, you and Kakashi get the firewood and Sakura, you get the water from the river." Sasuke began walking away, Sakura soon left as well.

"Come on Kakashi-sensei." Naruto barked out.

"You know Naruto. I should stay here and watch the camp site. So people don't steal our stuff. So why don't you go by yourself." Kakashi eyed smiled.

"Yeah that makes sense. Okay! I'll be back in a minute." Naruto yelled as he sped off in his own direction.

Kakashi watched the blonde boy speed off into the woods. Before he chuckled and pulled out a book. Sitting down comfortably he opened it to the page he was on.

**-Break-**

Sasuke stared at the Oran berry tree. "These are edible." He spoke to himself as he began picking the berries

As he was picking the berries he heard a rusting in the bushes next o him. Sasuke watched as another boy with purple hair and a stern look on his face appeared. He was wearing a blue and black jacket with gray pants.

Sasuke stared at the boy, who stared back. "What are you looking at?"

"I'm looking at a no talent rookie." The boy responded

"What did you say?" Sasuke spoke trying to repress his rage.

"You heard me. You are a talentless rookie who should give up while you are behind." The boy replied a smirk etched on his face.

"Just who the hell are you anyway!" Sasuke, now shouting asked.

"Paul." The boy, Paul replied.

"Well Paul why are you here?" Sasuke spoke quite annoyed, whatever Paul was here for it wasn't just to insult him.

"I'm looking for a powerful pokemon lurking in the area. The people near here say it has disastrous power." Paul replied.

Sasuke's eyebrow rose. 'Disastrous power.' He thought intrigued.

"I'm going to catch it. A pokemon with that power must be worthy." Paul continued.

"What do you mean worthy." Sasuke looked at Paul, annoyed and confused.

"Worthy for me to be it's trainer. A pokemon is only useful when it's strong, to give their trainer power." Paul answered sternly.

Sasuke nodded, yet appeared slightly disgusted with this Paul's attitude towards pokemon.

"I can agree. But you should have more respect for Pokemon. Because they ARE the trainer's power." Sasuke replied, taking the high ground.

Paul closed his eyes and turned his head. "Whatever." With that Paul walked away. Sasuke watched him leave. 'I'm going to find that Pokemon myself.' Sasuke thought as he put the last of the berries in his bag. Lifting it onto his bag, he took off in an opposite direction to Paul.

**-Break-**

Sasuke looked around. It had gotten dark fast and foggy, he figured he must be some form of body of water. Sure enough after stepped through the bushes he came in front of a secluded pond. However he was not alone. There drinking from the pond was a large white furred animal with a large blue horn on the right side of it's head. It seemed to sense Sasuke's presence and turned around. It's eyes were blood red and held a dangerous aura, but they were also strangely captivating.

"What is this?" Sasuke whispered as he reached for his pokedex, getting ready to scan this unknown pokemon.

_Absol, The Disaster Pokemon, Everytime Absol appears before people, it is followed by a disaster such as an earthquake or a tidal wave. As a result, it came to be known as the disaster pokemon._

"Absol, huh. The Disaster Pokemon." Sasuke spoke. "Was this what Paul was looking for?" Sasuke questioned himself. The pokemon did look powerful. Sasuke noted the black band tightly wrapped around the pokemon's leg. Was it someone else's pokemon?, or was it released? The Absol continued staring at Sasuke. Sasuke wanted the pokemon, he reached for a pokeball.

"Pokeball, go!" Sasuke shouted as he threw the pokeball at Absol, with a red flash Absol was sucked into the pokeball, Sasuke watched the pokeball wobble once, before the Absol broke free. "So it can be caught. Alright then, go Carvanha!" Sasuke shouted as his pokemon appeared with a roar.

"Carvanha, Ice fang!" Sasuke ordered. Carvanha sped forward with elongated frozen fangs. Absol dodged with superior speed. With a flash it appeared thrusting it's body weight in Carvanha, it winced silently because of Carvanha's rough skin ability.

"Was that it's quick attack, Carvanha use bite!" Sasuke shouted, Carvanha once again sped forward with it's jaws wide open, Absol performed the same maneuver and sped forwards. Both the pokemon gripped onto each other, however Carvanha got the upper hand with it's rough skin ability.

"Carvanha, water gun!" Carvanha obeyed and fired at blast of water at Absol, which hit directly.

"Good Carvanha, now use Ice fang!" Carvanha once again sped forward with icy teeth, however Absol once again jumped out the way. It suddenly stood still as if charging power. Without any warning the Absol swung it's head send a powerful gust of wind that sent Carvanha backwards, knocking it out.

Sasuke returned Carvanha to it's pokeball stunned. "That attack, was it Razor wind?" Sasuke mused, he shook the thought from his head. The battle wasn't over yet, he quickly reached for another pokeball. "Go Houndour!" With a growl Houndour appeared, ready to fight.

"Houndour, use Ember!" Sasuke shouted. Houndour launched the fire from it's mouth, hitting Absol.

"Use another Ember quick!" Houndour again shot fire from it's mouth, but this time Absol dodged and landed in it's previous stance. Sasuke instantly recognized that it was planning to use Razor wind again. When stood and began growling fiercely, looking behind Sasuke. Sasuke and Houndour turned around to see what it was growling at, there was nothing there. Sasuke turned to continue his battle but the Absol had disappeared. "Damn." Sasuke cursed quietly.

"There it is over there!" Sasuke heard someone shout. From behind him a group of villagers appeared, armed with pitchforks and fire torches.

"The Absol, boy, where did it go!" The villager leading the group barked out.

"I don't know, why?" Sasuke replied, annoyed that these people probably cost him the chance to catch a strong pokemon.

"That pokemon's been terrorizing our village with it's national disasters, we had finally caught it and bound it but it escaped. It ran in this direction." The angry villager shouted back.

It clicked to Sasuke that that was the reason why it had the black band around it's leg, so it escaped captivity. "Don't worry it will be out of your hair soon. I'm going to catch it." Sasuke spoke out.

The villagers laughed hard. "You catch it!" The villager laughed harder.

Sasuke grumbled under his breath. "Whatever." Sasuke huffed as he walked off and back towards the campsite. Still looking for any sign of the Absol.

Neither Sasuke nor the villagers noticed the human shaped figure melt back into the shadows a few metres behind them.

**-Break-**

Sakura sat at the bank of a stream. Filling each of the canteens with water. Just as she was putting the last filled canteen back into her bag, she heard a rustling from across the stream.

A small blue pokemon with four needle thin legs and a yellow point at the top of it's head darted outwards.

"A Surskit." Sakura spoke quietly, opening her pokedex.

_Surskit, The Pond Skater Pokemon, __From the tips of its feet, Surskit secretes an oil that enables it to walk on water as if it were skating. This pokemon feeds on microscopic organisms in ponds and lakes_.

"I'm gonna catch it." Sakura told herself as she pulled out a pokeball.

"Go Sentret!" Sakura called out as Sentret was released from it's pokeball.

Sakura's shouting alerted the Surskit, which looked angry at Sakura's presence. Without a warning it launched a string of bubbles from it's mouth.

"That's its bubble attack!" Sakura spoke "Quick Sentret dodge and use quick attack!" Sentret complied and moved out the attacks direction. It sped towards Surskit, but with superior speed, it moved out of Sentrets direction. Without a second thought it sped off through the bushes.

"W-Wait!" Sakura blurted out, recalling Sentret o it's pokeball she took off after the Surskit.

**-Break-**

Sakura was frantically following the Surskit. Keeping up with its fast, graceful moves was difficult. It stopped in front of a make shift shelter made of leaves and wood. Inside was other bug pokemon, Caterpie, Weedle, Wurmple, Burmy and Spinarak. They were all trembling and looked scared. The Surskit appeared to be trying to comfort each one of them. The Caterpie looked at Sakura and jumped in fear. The Surskit instantly jumped in between Sakura and the other bug pokemon and glared hard at Sakura.

"I see, so you're protecting these other bug pokemon." Sakura smiled softly and sadly at the Surskit. The Surskit responded to Sakura's smile by lowering it's guard slightly and forming a suspicious look on it's face. It's guard shot back up when a rustling to the left alerted that they were not alone.

Three angry looking Houndour appeared with cruel grins on their faces. The bug pokemon jumped up in fear and huddled together. Surskit stood strong and turned it's attention towards them. The Houndour charged forwards at the weaker bug pokemon, but Surskit was ready and launched a bubble attack at them. The Houndour continued pressing forwards launching ember attacks and trying to bite down on Surskit.

Sakura watched in shock at what was happening in front of her. "Are they getting bullied by the Houndour." Sakura spoke, she didn't understand. Sasuke's Houndour acted just like him, but it never bullied any other pokemon. Sakura decided that she wouldn't allow this to happen.

"Sentret! Eevee! Go and help Surskit!" Sakura shouted.

"Eevee use dig and Sentret use quick attack!" Eevee burrowed it's way underground and Sentret sped towards a Houndour knocking it down. Surskit began it's own attack against a different Houndour by speeding forwards with its own quick attack, it struck the Houndour then quickly followed up with a Bubble attack, a super effective hit against the Houndour.

Eevee suddenly sprung up under the Houndour that Sentret hit earlier, another super effective hit against the other Houndour. The Houndour Surskit was battling launched an ember attack at it, Surskit dodge effortlessly.

"Sentret, Eevee! Both of you use Quick attack against the same Houndour. Both her pokemon sped towards the previously hit Houndour and hit directly. The injuries were two much to bear and the Houndour fainted.

Surskit had just finished off the Houndour it was battling with one last bubble attack. Sakura looked at the Surskit and smiled. The Surskit responded with it's own smile.

Surskit was suddenly struck by the final Houndour from behind, Sakura had completely forgotten that it was there, it continued biting and hitting Surskit. Sakura looked at the other bug pokemon, ashamed. Surskit went through so much to help them, yet when Surskit was in trouble, they wouldn't bother. Sakura was going to interfere in the cruel display when streams of string shots wrapped the Houndour up. Followed by a five small blurs tackling the Houndour. The other bug pokemon finally found the courage to defend their friend.

Sakura watched the bug pokemon beat up the last Houndour. She turned her attention to Surskit, which looked badly injured. The other bug pokemon, after beating up the Houndour huddled around Surskit as well.

**-Break-**

Sakura spent some time healing Surskit. And after a while it was back to it's old self. Sakura decided that she couldn't catch this Surskit. It was needed to much.

"Well." Sakura spoke as she heaved her bag onto her back. "Bye." She smiled at the pokemon. The pokemon cried out to her, stopping her momentarily. The bug pokemon seemed to have a meeting and when they finished. They began pushing Surskit towards Sakura, as if urging it to go with her.

"You want Surskit to come with me?" Sakura asked. The pokemon nodded, however Surskit shook its head, it turned towards the pokemon and argued. But the pokemon weren't taking no for an answer. If Sakura had to guess, they were finally beginning to stand up for themselves.

Surskit sighed in defeat and turned towards Sakura, it extended it's front leg out. Sakura Smiled and knelt down to shake it's leg. She pulled out a pokeball and with a flash the Surskit went into it. Sakura smiled and waved to the other pokemon, who smiled back. She began her long walk back to camp.

**-Break-**

"Firewood, Firewood." Naruto continuously repeated. He had been searching for it for a while. And he was beginning to get irritated.

"Grrr! WHAT THE HELL DOES FIREWOOD LOOK LIKE ANYWAY!" Naruto screamed out at the top of his lungs.

He heard a chuckle from in front of him. A boy with a red and white hat, with a blue pokeball which sat on his black hair. With to zig zag lines under his eyes. With a blue and white shirt on with black trousers and red shoes. A Pikachu was also sat on his shoulder.

"What the hell you laughing at bub!" Naruto shouted at him.

"Nothing." The boy smiled and continued snickering.

Naruto grumbled under his breath. "A Pikachu." He spoke out loud and opened his pokedex.

_Pikachu, The Mouse Pokemon, It stores electricity in the electric sacs on its cheeks. When it releases pent-up energy in a burst, the electric power is equal to a lightning bolt._

"So who are you?" Naruto asked.

"Name's Ash Ketchum. And this is my partner Pikachu. And you are?" The boy, Ash answered.

"I am Naruto Namikaze." Naruto smiled. "Wait this is your partner. Does that mean he was your starter pokemon?" Naruto asked again.

"Yep. Although he didn't like me at first." Ash grinned.

"The same as me." Naruto grinned in return, pulling out Luxio's pokeball he sent it out, Luxio appeared with a smirk. "I started with an electric type two."

"Cool." Ash looked at the Luxio. "So what are you doing out here?" Ash was now doing the questioning.

"Looking for firewood for our campsite, I'm traveling with some other people, rookie guidelines, y'know." Naruto answered. "What are you doing here?" He continued with a question of his own.

"Just traveling towards Jublife. I'm meeting an old friend there. I'm also taking a break from my journey in Isshu." Ash responded.

"Isshu? What's an Isshu? Oh, I get it, YOU have issues." Naruto concluded.

"No, the Isshu region!" Ash responded irritated. "It's far away from any of the other regions, I had to get a plane there, it's full of awesome pokemon."

"Really!" Naruto perked up. "How about a battle before you leave then." Naruto requested.

"Alright then, I never deny a challenge." Ash responded with a confident smirk.

**-Break-**

Naruto stood a distance away from Ash. "A four vs. four battle sound okay?" He asked.

"Sounds good. Person who wins the most battles wins." Ash smiled.

"Alright then!" Naruto smiled. "Go Starly!"

"Starly!" Starly cried as it was released from it's pokeball.

"A Starly, huh. Reminds me of my own." Ash mused before he pulled out his own pokeball. "Go Hatooboo!"

"Hatooboo! "A bird pokemon, larger than Starly appeared. It had a few shades of gray and black for the colouring of it's feathers. Pink legs with large black talons and a yellow beak.

"Ooooh!" Naruto looked at the pokemon impressed. He pulled out his pokedex to scan the pokemon. The pokedex had a static screen. _No available data._

"What!" Naruto shouted. "Whatever, we'll still beat it. Starly use Quick attack!" Starly flew towards the Hatooboo.

"Hatooboo dodge and use gust!" Ash shouted. Hatooboo moved out of the way and with a flap of its wings, sent a strong wind towards Starly, which lost it's control of flight and was shot backwards. Starly got straight back up ready to fight.

"Yeah Starly, We'll beat him!" Naruto called out. "Get ready."

"Starly." Starly nodded. It looked at Hatooboo. All of a sudden Starly began glowing. It's body grew larger. "Staravia!" Naruto newly evolved pokemon called out. Naruto reached for his pokedex.

_Staravia, The Starling Pokemon, It lives in forests and fields. Squabbles over territory occur when flocks collide. _

"Cool!" Naruto looked astounded. "We can't lose now, Staravia use quick attack!" Staravia sped towards Hatooboo, this time hitting it. "Good Staravia now use Wing Attack!" Staravia altered it's course and flew back at Hatooboo, hitting it again with it's wing.

"Come on Hatooboo, use Air Cutter!" Ash called out. Hatooboo. Sped towards Staravia at a high speed striking it. "Now use gust!" Hatooboo once again sent a strong gust of wind at Staravia.

"Staravia, use quick attack to dodge!" Naruto shouted, Staravia listened and managed to move out of the attack. "Now use a quick attack on Hatooboo!" Staravia hit Hatooboo with it's speedy attack. "Finish off with another wing attack!" Staravia hit Hatooboo with it's wing again, dealing the final bit of damage, Hatooboo fainted.

Ash returned Hatooboo, to it's pokeball. "You did well, have a long rest." Ash smiled softly at the pokeball.

Naruto returned Staravia to it's pokeball. "You were awesome." Naruto grinned. Reaching for a new pokeball. "Go Eevee!"

"Eevee!" Eevee spoke, ready for it's battle.

Ash pulled a new pokeball out as well. "Go Futachimaru!"

A bipedal, otter-like pokemon that is light blue in colour appeared. It had small black ears, a pointed crest at the back of its head and long white whiskers forming tilted "V" shapes. Around its waist is a large, blue, fringed adornment, with seashells on the thighs. Naruto once again got out his pokedex to scan the new pokemon. _No available data_

Naruto grumbled under his breath. "Eevee use quick attack!" Eevee shot towards Futachimaru.

"Futachimaru dodge!" Ash shouted. Futachimaru evaded the attack. "Now use water gun!" A blast of water escaped the otter pokemon's mouth and shot Eevee.

"Quick Futachimaru another water gun!" Ash commanded. Futachimaru once again sent a shot of water towards Eevee.

"Eevee dodge it and use tail whip!" Eevee dodged and struck Futachimaru with it's furry tail, making its defence drop.

"Good Eevee, now use dig!" Eevee dug underground, preparing to spring up and attack Futachimaru at any time.

"Futachimaru, focus, find where it's gonna come up from!" Ash shouted. Futachimaru closed it's eyes and began concentrating, feeling for any vibrations underground. Eevee shot out from the right side. "Futachimaru shell blade!" Futachimaru pulled the two shells out and a blade like extension grew from them, with one quick slash of each shell against Eevee, it fell fainted.

"I win this round." Ash smiled as he returned Futachimaru. "Great job Futachimaru."

Naruto growled as he returned Eevee. Quickly he brought out his next pokeball, at the same time, Ash also through a pokeball.

"Turtwig, go!"

"I choose you, Chaobuu!"

Naruto and Turtwig stared at their opponent. A pig-like pokemon sporting orange, black, and yellow colouration. Fangs protruding from the lower jaw of its wide mouth and black, tapered ears on the top of its head. The black coloration from there extends down to its red, pig-like nose. The black colouration encompassing its shoulders, sides, and underbelly. Gold-colored, swirling features adorn its chest on the black pattern, and the pattern forms spiky shapes on the lower underbelly. The forelimbs of it have glove-like patterns, with gold bands at the "wrists" and black at the tips of the "hands", which have two claws. Its legs are small, and its curled, wiry black tail is tipped with a puffy feature. Naruto once again took out his pokedex. _No available data_

Naruto took the first move. "Turtwig attack, use Razor Leaf!" Naruto commanded.

"Chaobuu use ember!" Ash responded with his own attack. The ember burnt through the leaves.

"Chaobuu follow up with arm thrust!" Chaobuu charged towards Turtwig, thrusting it's huge arms multiple times against Turtwig.

"Chaobuu use ember again!"Chaobuu launched another ember at Turtwig.

"Turtwig dodge and use absorb!" Naruto pleaded. Turtwig dodged the fiery attack and began its absorb attack.

"Chaobuu before it can use absorb finish it off with ember!" Ash commanded. Quickly Chaobuu launched a final ember, it struck Turtwig. A super effective hit. Turtwig could n longer continue and fainted.

Naruto returned Turtwig to its ball. He couldn't win, but he could at least tie with Ash. "Go Luxio!" Naruto brought out his starter pokemon. Luxio was ready to fight, it roared loudly.

Ash returned Chaobuu back to it's ball. "Pikachu, you take on his last one okay." Ash smiled to the yellow pokemon on his shoulder.

"Pikachu." It smiled and jumped of Ash's shoulder. It landed ready to fight.

"Pikachu, Iron tail!" Ash took the first move this time. Pikachu's tail light up and Pikachu swung it around. It hit Luxio, but it appeared to not do much damage.

"Luxio use Spark!" Naruto capitalised on Pikachu being close range. Sparks of electricity shot off Luxio,

"Now use Bite, Luxio!" Luxio attempted to bite down hard on Pikachu.

"Pikachu dodge!" Ash shouted. Pikachu quickly moved out of the bite attack.

'Time to use the new move Kakashi-sensei taught Luxio.' Naruto thought excited, it would be his first time using it.

"Luxio use Thunderbolt!" Naruto ordered. A large amount of electricity shot off Luxio aiming straight for Pikachu.

"Pikachu dodge!" Ash called out. Pikachu moved out of the Thunderbolt's direction. "Pikachu use Thunderbolt of your own!" The same attack Luxio performed was now performed by Pikachu, however this time Pikachu hit it's target.

"Pikachu Volt Tackle!" Ash smirked.

"What! It knows Volt Tackle!" Naruto shouted astonished. He had never seen a Volt Tackle before, but he knew that they were powerful. Pikachu was engulfed in electricity as it sped towards Luxio at an incredible speed. Naruto didn't even have the time to give the command for Luxio to dodge.

"Pikachu follow up with Iron tail!" Pikachu once again swung it's iron hard tail at Luxio.

"Luxio dodge it!" Luxio dodged by jumping upwards. "Luxio now use Spark!" Electricity shot off Luxio and struck Pikachu, not doing much damage.

"Pikachu Iron tail!" Pikachu quickly recovered from the spark attack. It swung it's steel hard tail at Luxio again, Luxio jumped backwards to avoid the attack.

"Pikachu Volt Tackle!"

"Luxio Thunderbolt!"

Both the trainers shouted. Pikachu it it's Volt Tackle armour, took the Thunderbolt head on. It caused continuous damage as Pikachu charged towards Luxio. With a large flash of light they collided. Naruto and Ash looked intently for any signs to see who came out on top. When the light died down it showed Luxio and Pikachu knocked out. Ash had one the battle. With a sigh Naruto returned Luxio back to it's ball. "You did great Luxio."

Ash picked up his fainted Pikachu. "That was a fun match Naruto we should do it again some time." Ash smiled widely at Naruto.

"You bet!" Naruto grinned in return. "But I'll definitely win next time!"

Ash laughed. "In your dreams!"

Naruto laughed as well.

"Well I best be going. Don't want to keep my friend waiting." Ash sighed out, he began walking off.

"See Ya!" Naruto waved him goodbye. But Naruto remembered why he was out here, he looked around at the destruction his battle with Ash caused. Large chunks of wood lay everywhere around him.

"I'll never find any firewood now." Naruto sighed out depressed. "I know!" An idea formed in Naruto's head. "I'll take some of this wood and say it's firewood! I'm such a genius!" Naruto finished as he began picking up the wood.

**-Break-**

Kakashi sat comfortably reading his book, he looked up and saw one by one the children had returned, they all looked exhausted and like a mess.

"Did anything fun happen on your little journeys." Kakashi spoke with his patented eye smile. The three children groaned and entered their individual tents. Kakashi watched each of them enter their tents.

"Well how rude." Kakashi noted. "They're not behaving like a team at all." Kakashi finished as he carried on reading his book.

* * *

**A/N:** And there we have it. Was it good, was it bad or was it ugly (see what I did there). Sakura's section was a parody of about 97 episodes of the anime. Seriously it's that same plot over and over again. Ash showed up (Yay I guess) although I don't like him much (Long live real Red!), especially in the Best Wishes anime. But Iris pisses me off more, constantly calling him a child. She looks younger than him. But I am getting off track. I am going to put up a bio chapter aswell to remind you whose got what.

Remember in Red and Firered at the rocket games corner where you could buy pokemon, that was an awesome idea, so I wanna add that at some point, maybe next chapter. Also next chapter will have Gardenia debuting, a reunion with Volkner, and the debut of GUY-SAMA! Oh the youth.

So please review, comment on areas of improvement, areas of excellence or just say howido and please wait for the next chapter.

Instead of saying a wierd way of saying goodbye, I am going to leave you with a thought.

Is Ash ever gonna go back for Pidgeot and Primeape?

Just saying.


	5. The Floaroma Bazaar

**A/N:** Yo! So my first update after a while, I kinda lost the will to write this after recieving some negative comments about it. But there was a lot of positive comments about it as well, so I felt inclined to continue this for those people who are actually enjoying it. My opinion of this chapter...meh, certainly a better one in the way it was written in my opinion and plotwise, but it was a little slow moving and boring for me as well, if that makes sense. But don't let that put you off, you might like it, I'm just saying that I might go over it and add more to it later.

Don't own Naruto or Pokemon

* * *

"I can see the gates of Floaroma you guys!" Naruto shouted as he tried hurrying them, to the top of the hill. They arrive and they all stared at Floaroma town, the blooming flours colouring the small town, the wind blowing the flowers, making the town look like a sea of colour.

The team stood agape at the beauty of the town. However Sakura felt the presence that she had been feeling all day. She turned around. "Does anyone else feel like we're being followed?"

Sasuke and Kakashi nodded, Naruto frowned. "I can't feel a thing. Now let's go, we're almost there!" He whined as he sped down the hill towards the town.

"I've been having that feeling since we left the camp site." Sasuke spoke as he looked towards the town. '_Who or what could be following us?_

**-Break-**

The group looked around at the stalls, it was some kind of market place. "Looks like we arrived just in time for the Floaroma bazaar." Kakashi spoke lazily as he looked around.

"The Floaroma who?" Naruto squinted his eyes in confusion.

"Bazaar, it's like a market. You can buy lot's of things here, clothes, pokemon items, sometimes there are even pokemon for sale." Kakashi replied in his lazy tone.

"What do you mean for sale?" Sakura spoke, a little shock in her voice.

"It means that a man catches pokemon, then brings them to the market places and sells them, it sounds a lot like poaching, but it is actually quite different, the stall owners are breeders a lot of the time, so they keep very good care of the pokemon. It is a popular way for trainers to receive rare pokemon." Kakashi explained. "Well seeing as there are a lot of stalls here, why don't we split up and meet back at the pokemon centre instead of walking around all day seeing each person's likes." Kakashi smiled before walking off. Sasuke soon left in his own direction as well.

**-Break-**

Sasuke walked through the aisles of the markets, his new outfit made him look overdressed for the climatic Floaroma weather. He wore full black. A long sleeve zip-up jacket with a high collar, going up to his chin. Black baggy cargo pants and a black scarf wrapped around his neck. A tartan pattern could be seen on the scarf but it did not differentiate by colour.

Sasuke eyes were attracted by the collection of pokeballs at a stall, next to each ball was a picture of a pokemon and a price. Totodile, Pikachu, Igglybuff, Cleffa. Sasuke scanned through the names of the pokemon, but none were interesting him. His eyes finally located a pokemon that sparked his interest. Cacnea – P600.

'Why is a Cacnea so cheap?' Sasuke asked himself in his head. "Hey." Sasuke spoke grabbing the stall owner's attention. "Cacnea are rare to the Sinnoh region, why are you selling one for only P600?" Sasuke asked.

The owner sighed a sad sigh. "That Cacnea is very weak, because of that no one gives it a chance, I'm afraid it won't last long if it has to continue to live in a pokeball without a trainer."

Sasuke looked at the Cacnea's pokeball with a pang of sympathy. He remembered his conversation with Paul, who would release pokemon who he didn't deem strong enough, perhaps, Sasuke should do the same for this Cacnea, no one was giving it a chance, so it was just wasting away inside the pokeball, wouldn't it be better if he released it.

"I'll take it." Sasuke spoke pulling P600 out of his pocket. The stall owner thanked him gratuitously and quickly swiped the money, he handed Sasuke the pokeball.

"Have a good day sir!" The stall owner smiled and waved Sasuke away.

Sasuke walked off to the edge of the market, near the forests surrounding Floaroma. He held Cacnea's pokeball for a second.

"Go."

With a flash a small green pokemon with long club like arms appeared. "Cacnea?" It looked around confused.

"You're free to go." Sasuke looked down at the Cacnea. The Cacnea looked at the stall metres away from them, then at the pokeball in Sasuke's hand, the pokeball it had spent a large portion of time in, like a prison. Cacnea instantly knew that finally it's time had come to shine, to prove it's worth, all thanks to this boy, Cacnea knew that it could leave him.

"Ow!" Sasuke cried when the Cacnea jumped and hugged him latching on to his neck with the spikes of it's arms. "Come on, let go! I said you were free!" Sasuke tried to free himself from the pokemon's grip. The pokemon dropped from Sasuke's neck and hit the button for it's pokeball on it's way down, being returned to it's pokeball.

Sasuke winced and looked at the pokeball. The pokemon obviously wanted to stay with him, but would it help him achieve his goal of defeating Akatsuki. Maybe with time, it would become strong.

"Alright, you can stay." Sasuke shrunk the ball and slipped it in his pocket. "I should find the others at the pokemon centre." Sasuke began walking to the red roof building in the distance.

**-Break-**

Sakura was pleased with her new look, it was kind of the same as her original by colour, but the clothes were different. She now wore red shirt with short yellow sleeves, white cloth going round the edges of the clothes. The shirt extended downwards on the left side only covering her left leg to above the knee, her other leg showed her blue shorts. Her shoes were black and extended up to her knee. Her hands had black fingerless gloves on.

Sakura walked through the market browsing each of the stalls before moving on. However, she came across one stall that she just couldn't look at.

Pokeballs on display, a picture of a pokemon and a price, it was one of the pokemon stalls Kakashi-sensei told her about. A space in the products indicated that someone had just bought a pokemon.

She crinkled her nose in disgust at the stall. "How could anyone possibly want to get a pokemon this way?"

She quickly turned her head and walked away from the stall, searching for an apps stall for the Poketch. She heard that there was one here selling rare apps.

**-Break-**

"Why did you stay with me Naruto? Didn't you want any new clothes." Kakashi asked the young blond boy with him in a bored tone, his eyes never leaving his book as they weaved through the crowds.

"What's wrong with my clothes now?" Naruto squinted his eyes.

"Er...nothing. Didn't you want to check out the pokemon stall?" Kakashi asked a different question, but still in a bored tone.

"Nah. Something about getting a pokemon in that way doesn't feel right. Making a friend out of a pokemon should be through hard work not just buying them at a price." Naruto spoke as he looked forwards, there was nothing in the market that interested him. He had everything they need.

"Ah. There's Sasuke." Kakashi pointed out as Sasuke walked towards them.

"Nice get up Sasuke." Naruto spoke mimicking Kakashi's bored tone.

"Shut up, idiot." Sasuke growled in return, his head nodded upwards. "Sakura's there." Sasuke spoke, using his head to point behind them.

Naruto turned around and looked at Sakura's new outfit, instantly his brain began malfunctioning, he smiled open mouth and goofy at her. "I like your new look Sakura-chan." Naruto nearly drooled out.

Sakura looked at him disturbed. "Thanks Naruto, I guess. What do you think Sasuke-kun?" Sakura struck a little pose, a blush appeared on her face.

"Hn."

A tick appear on Sakura's head. Was that his only reply for everything.

As Naruto continued gawking at Sakura, he saw something behind her that finally interested him in the market.

"LEE!" Naruto yelled. He began waving in the direction in front of them. A boy clad in green with a shiny black bowl cut was alerted and looked at them, a smile grew on hid face as he ran towards them.

"Naruto-kun, Sakura-san how are you? And you must be their third team mate Sasuke-san, a pleasure to meet you." Lee bowed towards Sasuke.

Sasuke looked at the weird kid bowing to him, his large black eyebrows were almost moving on their own. '_This was the guy who beat Naruto? He looks weak.'_

"Whatcha doing here Lee?" Naruto asked the green clad boy.

Lee looked down sadly and sighed. "I've been having trouble receiving my fifth gym badge. So I came here to train."

Everyone looked at Lee, _'His fifth badge, already.'_

"Why come here? Surely it would be better to train around the fifth gym, stronger trainers would be there than here." Sasuke bluntly spoke to Lee.

"It was not my choice coming here, it was my sensei's. The man I admire so much I modelled myself after him. The mightiest pokemon trainer I have ever met!" Lee clenched his fist, fires burned in his eyes.

Kakashi's one visible eye widened, the emotion it showed was panic. Sasuke, Naruto and Sakura looked at him curiously, this was a side of their sensei they had never seen. "Y-You couldn't possibly mean." Kakashi panicked, he knew recognised the green jumpsuit, black bowl cut and grin.

"YOSH!" A man crashed down next to Lee, he was just an older version of Lee. Same green jumpsuit, same black shiny bowl hair cut, same nice guy pose and the same huge eyebrows! "My eternal rival is here! I knew today would be a good day to follow my youth!" The man shouted ecstatically.

"You say something Guy?" Kakashi's panic had been replaced with his usual bored body language, a façade to hide his feelings for sure.

"You and your hipness, Kakashi!" The man, Guy yelled, he quickly calmed down, to a level that Sakura still considered overly hyper. "No matter Kakashi." Guy grinned deviously. "My trails of youthfulness have once again matched your natural hipness." Guy struck his nice guy pose and pulled a case similar to Kakashi's Akatsuki symbol case, with a snap it opened, revealing a yellow symbol, the symbol for South in the middle of it.

"This guy!" Sasuke blurted in a tone unusual to the Uchiha. "Actually beat an Akatsuki member! He's totally idiotic, not to mention completely insane!"

"Take that back about Guy-sensei!" Lee shouted in his sensei's defence.

"Lee's right Sasuke, you shouldn't underestimate Guy, he has achieved all the same awards I have." Kakashi confessed lazily.

"Wrong Kakashi!" Guy shouted, filled with energy again. "I have achieved more than you. In our many battles you have only won 49 times, while I have won 50 times!" Guy puffed out his chest as a sign of pride in this accomplishment.

Kakashi's students looked at Guy with a new found awe. This complete whack job had beaten their sensei in more battles than their sensei had beaten him.

"So which Akatsuki member was it?" Sasuke asked, slightly fearful that this symbol belonged to Itachi, if it did, he could never call Itachi his brother again.

"His name was-" Guy stopped in his tracks, a sweat dropped from his brow after a few moments. "I forgot."

Everyone fell to the floor.

'_I seriously hope Itachi didn't lose to this guy.'_ Sasuke thought as he looked at the man scratching his head, trying to remember the name of the Akatsuki member he defeated.

"Hey Lee!" Naruto called. "You promised me a battle next time we meet. Get ready!"

Lee smiled and pulled out a pokeball. "Very well Naruto-kun."

A hand darted in front of Naruto, the hand belonged to Sasuke, who glared at Lee angrily. "I'm going to battle him this time."

"No way Sasuke, he's mine!" Naruto growled at his team mate.

"You've had your chance and you lost." Sasuke spoke bluntly, Naruto took a step back. "I'll show him how a real trainer battles." Sasuke pulled out a pokeball.

"YOSH! Kakashi, the flames of hipness of your dark haired student inspire me so! Kakashi you and I shall team up with our students in the most legendary double battle the world will ever see! Which is the true way to victory; Natural talent or hard work!" Guy's eyes blazed over, his energy levels soreing.

"You say something Guy." Kakashi looked up from his book.

"Your accursed hipness, Kakashi!" Guy whined.

"We will have a double battle Sasuke-kun, just like my battle with Naruto." Lee smiled.

"Very well." Sasuke smirked and pulled out two pokeballs. "Go Houndour, Cacnea!"

"Cacnea." Sakura, Sasuke, Naruto pulled out their pokedexes, even Lee brought out a green pokedex, matching his jumpsuit in colour.

_Cacnea, The Cactus Pokemon, Cacnea lives in arid locations such as deserts. It releases a strong aroma from its flower to attract prey. When prey comes near, this pokemon shoots sharp thorns from its body to bring the victim down. _

_'Let's see what moves you know.'_ Sasuke thought as he ran an extra scan on Cacnea.

_This Cacnea knows Leer, Poison Sting and Absorb._

_'That's it.' _Sasuke thought. He didn't have time to think further as Lee brought out his own pokemon.

"Go Poliwhirl, Hitmonchan, let your flames of youth burn!" Lee shouted. A blue frog like pokemon with a hypnotic swirl for a stomach appeared as well as another pokemon that looked just like a boxer.

_Poliwhirl, The Tadpole Pokemon, Its body surface is always wet and slick with an oily fluid. Because of this greasy covering, it can easily slip and slide out of the clutches of any enemy in battle. _

_Hitmonchan, The Punching Pokemon, Hitmonchan is said to possess the spirit of a boxer who had been working towards a world championship. This pokemon has an indomitable spirit and will never give up in the face of adversity. _

"I'll begin! Hitmonchan use Mach Punch on Houndour, Poliwhirl use Hypnosis on Cacnea!"

Houndour was instantly punched by Hitmonchan, a super effective hit, Cacnea was quickly put to sleep by the faster moving Poliwhirl.

"Houndour use bite on Hitmonchan! Cacnea wake up!" Sasuke shouted, Houndour followed through on it's trainers command, however Cacnea was in too deep a sleep to listen.

"Hitmonchan dodge and use Fire Punch on Cacnea, Poliwhirl use Bubblebeam on Houndour!" Lee shouted.

Hitmonchan swiftly moved at of Houndour's attack leaving it open for a direct hit by the Bubblebeam. Hitmonchan charged towards the sleeping Cacnea, it's fist ignited, it connected with Cacnea, another super effective hit, causing Sasuke's new Cacnea to faint.

Lee was about to call the match when Houndour struggled to get back up. "Impressive Sasuke, you've trained your pokemon superbly, I can tell that your Cacnea is a new addition, you haven't had a chance to mould your spirits together yet, however, Poliwhirl finish with Mud Shot on Houndour!"

A bullet of mud launched from Houndour and struck directly, three super effective hits to Houndour was far too much and he fainted.

Sasuke returned his two pokemon and growled in frustration, he had always believed that he was one of the stronger trainers, even if he was new, but for this Lee to beat him so easily. It angered him.

"You remind me of Neji-san, Sasuke-san." Lee spoke softly, recalling his pokemon back to their pokeballs.

"Whose Neji?" Sasuke spat out.

"My team mate, when he became strong enough he broke off from our team, followed by my other team mate Tenten, I was always the weakest, you are the strongest out of your team, just like Neji, who was also gifted with an uncanny natural aptitude towards training pokemon, they just seemed to power up for him. You will become much stronger Sasuke-san, and I hope you will allow me a rematch one day." Lee spoke sagely.

"LEE!" Guy shouted tearfully. "What a truly youthful speech!" He hugged his student, a sunset over the crashing waves background appearing behind them. "For such a youthful win and speech, you shall be rewarded with double the training!"

"Thank you, Guy-sensei!" Lee, now equally as tearful, hugged his sensei in return.

"Come Lee!" Guy began rushing off at inhuman speeds.

Lee began following after him, he turned around, still running at the same speeds and shouted. "I am sorry, Naruto-kun, perhaps we can battle another time!" He waved them goodbye and ran to catch up with his sensei.

Naruto looked over to Sasuke, who hadn't moved an inch, he looked bitter, apparently Sasuke was a sore loser.

**-Break-**

Naruto looked over to his black-haired friend, who was still sulking over his loss to Lee. Naruto considered that he should be more caring for his friend's defeat, but it was always so funny when the Uchiha lost a battle, he would mope and sulk, then get angry and bail on them.

"I told you he was tough." Naruto spoke in a know-it-all tone. Sasuke grumbled something in return, it clearly wasn't something friendly.

"Maybe next time you-" Naruto began before he was tackled to the ground by a flash of brown and green, within a second Naruto was in a headlock with a fist rubbing against his head. The assailant looked to be around 22 years old. She was female with brown hair and brown shorts with a green shirt.

"What's up pipsqueak!" The assailant grinned as she continued beating up Naruto.

"Gardenia! Get off me!" Naruto struggled to free himself from he grip, eventually after wriggling his way out he was free. "What are you doing here, anyway? Don't you have a gym to run?" Naruto rubbed the back of his head in pain.

"Naruto!" Sakura diverted the attention to herself. "You know a gym leader!"

"Yeah, she hangs out with my brother all the time." Naruto answered, confused as to why knowing a gym leader was a bad thing.

"I'm here with the new Sunyshore Gym leader." Gardenia quickly interrupted, smiling, she couldn't wait for the kid's reaction.

"There's a new gym leader!" Naruto shouted loudly, completely disbelieving, the Sunyshore gym leader was so strong.

"Yeah. The old man just retired, the new one's got some big shoes to fill." Gardenia scratched her chin, thinking about the new gym leader.

"So whose the new gym leader?" Naruto asked Gardenia, she was about to answer when a new voice called out.

"Gardenia!" Everyone turned and saw an older version of Naruto walking towards them. A blue jacket with a black shirt underneath and black pants. The man nodded to Kakashi as a way of greeting and Kakashi nodded in return. "Hello Kakashi."

"Volkner." Kakashi replied.

"Volkner!" Naruto smiled.

"Yo Naruto, what's up." Volkner smiled in return.

"Nothing much, Sakura's competing in a contest, you know. While I am kicking but and getting awesome pokemon!" Naruto threw his arms behind his head. "Hey Volkner, did you know that there is a new Sunyshore gym leader?"

Volkner chuckled slightly. "I've heard about it." Volkner looked at Gardenia, a smirk on her face, he sent a look telling her to speak no more on the matter. "How's Shinx, Naruto?"

"It evolved into Luxio a while back, it's pretty awesome!" Naruto grinned widely. "What about you, have you caught any new pokemon, Volkner?"

"Yeah, one." Volkner drew out a pokemon. "This is why I was in the area, Gardenia was helping me catch a pokemon in the Old Mansion in Eterna Forest. It has the ability to change it's forme so it's pretty rare, but at the moment it is nothing compared to what dad's caught." Volkner looked at the pokeball, a small smile on his face.

"Hey Volkner, can we go get some food now, I'm starving!" Gardenia leaned over clutching her stomach.

Volkner chuckled slightly. "Yeah let's go to the pokemon centre."

"We can come too, Sakura has to sign up for the contests anyway!" Naruto spoke walking off with his brother and Gardenia.

Kakashi, Sakura and Sasuke watched Naruto walk off. "Ditched us pretty quick, didn't he." Sakura huffed as she followed after them.

**-Break-**

The entire group entered the pokemon centre. Sakura immediately sped towards Nurse Joy, intent in signing up for the contests. Gardenia soon sped away as well to the food court, leaving the group behind. Sakura soon returned squealing in delight.

"Yes! You're looking at Sakura Haruno, official pokemon co-ordinator!" Sakura flashed the piece sign, wearing a grin comparable to Naruto's. Naruto sheered madly for her, while everyone else smirked. "I better go get some last minute training in." Sakura thought aloud before darting out of the pokemon centre before anyone had a chance to speak.

"Anything you two wanna do?" Kakashi asked Naruto and Sasuke lazily.

"Training." Sasuke spoke bluntly, still bitter over his loss to Lee.

"Training sounds like a good idea." Volkner spoke walking off.

"Wait, where are you going?" Naruto spoke quickly.

"I don't want to watch you train." Volkner turned around to his younger brother.

"But why?" Naruto asked sadly.

"Because if I watch you train, I'll know some of your secrets and strategies and when it's time for us to battle, I want to be completely surprised." Volkner smiled the famous Namikaze smile.

Naruto returned his own. "So what will you do now?"

"I have a battle planned with dad." Volkner waved goodbye and left. Naruto watched his brother leave, a battle with dad, he began wandering what his dad was doing now...

**-Break-**

Sarutobi watched as his Ambipom fell to the floor, fainted, it stood no match against it's opponent, just like the rest of his pokemon, Sarutobi's pokemon weren't weak, he wasn't the Hokage; strongest of the five Kages for nothing, but everytime he battled that spiky blonde haired opponent he would always lose.

Sarutobi looked at the champion of the world with pride, he remembered the day, Minato came to pick up his pokedex. How how that boy changed over the years. Into the strongest trainer in the world.

Sarutobi groaned and held his back. "I am getting to old for this Kage stuff. Maybe it's time I found a replacement. Then I could continue my research in peace."

"Did you have anyone in mind?" Minato asked with a smile.

"I was hoping Jiraiya could. But I know that it isn't his style, maybe Tsunade would be a better choice." Sarutobi sighed sorely. "I also wish that you could become Hokage again, you made a fine Hokage, but you had to go defeat Sakumo and become champion, but it fills me with pride that someone I knew from so long ago as just a boy has become this powerful."

"I have you and Jiraiya to thank for that." Minato grinned, the grin that had become a trademark for him. Sarutobi laughed.

"As expected from the champion of the world;" Sarutobi spoke, Minato smiled at the professor. A flash of lightening appeared and a large pokemon flew behind Minato. It's large yellow and black wings flapped around, suspending it in the air. It's feathers were jagged and sharp. It's long beak stretched out like a needle. It gave one loud cry, that would terrify even the evillest men.

"ZAPDOS!"

**Flying Thunder God Minato

* * *

**

A/N: Well chapter 5 done, contest chapter next, ugh. I was never entertained by the contests, but it seemed better than everyone going for the pokemon league, so if anyone wants to write it for me they are more than welcome, lol.

On that note, I have discovered in detail what a Beta is, they can proof read and tweak bits of the story add, remove and gennerally make a chapter longer. So I might find a Beta for this story, cause I don't know how to make each chapter longer.

Quick questions. Am I evolving the pokemon too fast? cause I don't think I am, but when reading other fics, the pokemon don't evolve for ages. And does this fic seemed a little rushed to you guys? Cause it kind of does for me, I didn't want it to be one of those Naruto/Pokemon fics that stick one one section for about four chapters with nothinbg going on (I've seen a few of them), but when I read back over it, it seems like I am powering through it.

Next chapter might not be up for a while, college work is a big problem at the moment, I have exams coming soon so I need to revise, something I've never done in my life. And my other fic, A Complete Family, Incomplete is finally beginning to get some attention, so I really want to continue writing that, I'm having more fun writing it as well. I'm having fun writing this as well, but I need something huge to happen in this story soon to recapture my passion for writing it, any ideas anyone.

Well, that was a long A/N. Think I've said enough, so toodles.

Read, Write and Review! :)

P.S. Sakura and Sasuke's new outfit pictures are posted on my profile, for Naruto's outfit, I'll just remind you what he is wearing. You seen the new Shippuden Fillers? You know the first three good ones with Iruka, well the Hoodie outfit with green (or blue, I forget) shorts the young Naruto wears in that is what he wears in this fic.


	6. The Contest

**A/N:** Yo! Yeah, you're reading your reading your screens right, I updates two chapters today. I finished chapter 6 yesterday and finished chapter 7 today, so I thought I might as well update them both. You might be asking where I got the time to to do this. Well, my college is closed for Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. Meaning I had a lot of time. That and I'm sick. You see, if I wasn't I'd be out merrymaking in the snow. It's snowing in England. Instead of writing four A/Ns I'm going to do the pre-chapter A/N now and the post chapter A/N at the end of chapter seven.

Now why I am uploading two chapters at once. Chapter 6 is a contest chapter, something I wasn't looking forward to, although it turned out better than I had anticipated. I'm not saying it's spectacular but hey. So I uploaded chapter 7 as well for the people who aren't really into contest chapters.

Well that's it. Speak to again in however long it taks for you to read the two chapters.

* * *

"Cacnea use Poison Sting now!" Sasuke ordered. Cacnea followed it's trainer's orders and shot poisonous needles from it's mouth, they hit directly, knocking the Pachirisu they were battling out.

Sasuke looked down at his Cacnea and smiled, why no one bought it before him he'll never know, within a few battles, it's strength and experience had grown greatly. Cacnea returned it's trainer's smile.

Sasuke's smile turned to a frown. He remembered Naruto. How two of his pokemon had already evolved, and none of his had, it was eating away at him inside. Naruto was always training longer than him, and with the newly evolved pokemon, his party was getting stronger. And he was beginning to overtake him.

Sasuke growled in anger, how could the dead last at the Academy possibly be overtaking him, the top of the class, Naruto, who didn't even know what he was doing half the time, was beating him in every aspect.

"Grrr!" Sasuke's anger vented slightly. He grabbed his three other pokeballs and threw them into the air. Houndour, Eevee and Carvanha all appeared, they looked at the evening sky and wondered what was going on, they looked at their trainer, who was fuming.

"Get ready for the hardest training you've ever experienced yet." Sasuke told his pokemon, they jumped back a bit, but regained their composure, ready for the training. All his pokemon cried in return, totally prepared for the training.

Sasuke smirked at his pokemon. He would catch up to Naruto, overtake him, show him who truly was the best.

The feeling of being watched returned to Sasuke, the same feeling he had experienced since he left the campsite with Kakashi, Sakura and Naruto. His pokemon seemed to feel it as well as they all looked to the same place behind him.

Quickly Sasuke turned around, just in time to glimpse the bushes rustling. _'Gotcha.' _Sasuke thought victoriously. Slowly moving towards the bushes, with his pokemon close behind him, Sasuke went to investigate who could have been possible following him this entire time.

"Come out!" Sasuke commanded as he approached the bush, which began rustling again, Sasuke took a step back, before his stalker jumped over his head a landed a distance away from him.

It was an Absol, not only that, it was the Absol he battled a few days ago, he could tell by the black bind wrapped around it's leg.

"Absol." It's deep calm cry startled Sasuke's ears. It glared at him for a few moments.

"So it's you that's been following us. Did I make a good impression?" Sasuke smirked as he glared back at the Absol. "Well I'm stronger now, and now I will capture you!"

The Absol glare stopped as it turned and ran away.

Sasuke turned to his pokemon. "Let's go. I want to catch that Absol, this time we'll defeat it!" Carvanha and Houndour both nodded, eager for a rematch with the Absol. Sasuke and his pokemon began chasing after the Absol. One thought ran through Sasuke's mind.

_'I will catch it!'_

**-Break-**

Sakura looked through the curtains backstage of the contest stage. She found Kakashi and Naruto in the crowd, an empty seat still next to them.

'Where are you, Sasuke?' Sakura asked herself, she was worried enough at entering in her first contest, she was hoping that Sasuke's ever confident smirk, would project some confidence into her.

"It's probably just not that interesting enough for him." Sakura spoke to herself, disheartened.

"Hey forehead!" Sakura turned around, Ino stood with a cocky smirk, next to Choji, who as always was eating a pack of chips. "Glad to see your here, now you can look at the face of the winner!" Ino laughed hard, completely unaware of Sakura's sadness.

Fortunately Choji did recognise Sakura's sadness. "Ino that's not very nice." He spoke in a kind voice. "Sakura, don't worry, you'll probably win." He tried to lift the pink haired girl's spirits, but to no avail. Before Ino could add her two cents. The screen came on.

"_Hello and welcome to the Floaroma town contest! I am Tsunami, the host of the contests!" The roar of the crowd was loud, it didn't help boost Sakura's confidence._

"_Is everyone ready for the contest! First of we have the appeal round, kicking things of is a boy from Twinleaf Town, Choji Akimichi!" Tsunami spoke into her microphone, the crowd cheered loudly._

"Well, that's me." Choji smiled and put down his bag of chips and moved towards the stage.

**-Break-**

"Look there's Choji!" Naruto smiled as the boy walked onto the staged. With a toss of his pokeball a Butterfree fluttered onto the stage.

Naruto looked at the empty seat next to him. "Where the hell is Sasuke?" He spoke angrily, a team was supposed to support each other, Sakura was always there for his battles, why couldn't he show up for Sakura's biggest event so far.

"Well Sasuke didn't come back to the hotel last night, so he might still be training, or he's in trouble, but I doubt that." Kakashi replied to Naruto's question.

"Well either way Sasuke's an asshole for not showing up!" Naruto quickly returned.

"Who you calling an asshole?" A voice spoke to the left of them, the voice belonged to Sasuke, who quite frankly looked terrible, he was covered in dirt and looked extremely tired.

"Sasuke so you came after all." Kakashi smiled at the black-haired boy.

Sasuke nodded. "Of course I cam, Sakura's been there to help me. I feel indebted to her." Sasuke replied as he sat down next to a snickering Naruto.

"More like you love her." Naruto mocked, making kissing faces. His response was a hard punch to the temple.

"Idiot!" Sasuke growled out, before turning to the stage.

"Where were you anyway, Sasuke?" Kakashi asked, turning to the stage aswell.

"I was training when I pokemon I want appeared, I was chasing after it but it got away from me again." Sasuke replied, truthfully Absol did appear and he was chasing it, but he had it cornered, but when he checked the time, he realised he was already late for Sakura's contest, so he gave up battling it and let it escape. He wondered why he did it, Absol was strong, was Sakura really that important to him?

"Please welcome, another co-ordinator from Twinleaf Town, Sakura Haruno!" Tsunami cheered into her microphone, the crowd cheered loudly in return..

**-Break-**

Sakura heard her name being called out and froze, was she really ready for this? Would she just go on stage and embarrass her self completely. Her body wasn't taking no for answer, she had already begun walking onto the stage. As she entered the stage the crowd roared. She looked towards Kakashi and Naruto, hoping for some kind of support.

And there he was, sat next to Naruto, the boy she had been crushing on since before she could remember. The exact smirk she envisioned on his face present, giving her full support of what she was doing.

She smiled in return, she felt confident. She took to the centre of the stage. Spinning around she threw her pokeball high into the air. "Surskit, time to shine!" She called out. Her Surskit appeared and spun around rapidly as it fell to the floor, very much like a landing helicopter. Surskit landed gracefully in front of the crowd. "Wows" escaped the crowds mouths. Sakura knew that she had the audiences complete attention.

"Surskit, use bubble to make huge bubbles!" Sakura commanded, Surskit complied and blew many large bubbles, bubbles that were much bigger than Sakura.

"Now Surskit, use string shot into the air to wrap around the bubbles!" An odd command, but one that Surskit seemed able to accomplish, gently layering all the bubbles in sticky string.

"Pop 'em!" Was Sakura's last command, Surskit jump high, and with it's needle like legs, began popping the bubbles, when the bubbles burst, the string exploded everywhere, creating a firework/confetti atmosphere on stage. The crowd gasped in awe as the watched the glistening display on stage. Surskit landed back onto the stage and basked in it's creation, dancing around the stage in a spinning motion on one of it's legs.

"Simply beautiful." Nurse Joy, the first judge spoke.

"Amazing." The second judge, Anko Mitarashi commented.

"I must agree!" Shizune, the apprentice of the Sannin Tsunade and the third judge of the pokemon contests in Sinnoh added.

Sakura returned Surskit to it's ball and skipped off stage.

"What a dazzling performance, now give it up for another Twinleaf grown co-ordinator, Ino Yamanaka!" Tsunami called.

Sakura stopped when Ino began walking out. "Good luck, Ino-pig" Sakura smirked.

"You're the only one who needs luck around here Forehead!" Ino quickly replied before entering onto the stage.

**-Break-**

Sakura sat impatiently awaiting the results, this had to be the most nerve racking experience in her life. She looked up at the screen, the last person was giving their performance. After them, she would find out if she was through to the next round.

"Sakura!" A voice belonging to Naruto called. Sure enough, there they were, Naruto waving to her, they approached her and Naruto's grin widened. "Sakura, you were great!"

"Very impressive Sakura." Kakashi smiled at her. She blushed at both of their compliments and turned to Sasuke, the blush never leaving her face. Naruto and Kakashi followed suit and stared at Sasuke.

Sasuke looked around at all three of them before sighing. "The thing you did with the bubbles was...interesting." Sasuke spoke nonchalantly, trying to keep his cool.

Sakura blushed madly at his response, she knew that that was the best she was going to get from Sasuke, but she didn't mind, it was still something after all.

Sakura quickly hugged him before he could react. "Thanks for coming." She spoke softly.

Sasuke was taken aback by her actions, he wasn't quite sure what to do. Luckily for him, Sakura let go of him.

Sakura turned to see Kakashi with a knowing look on his face and a broken heart Naruto, hands extended and mouth agape. Realising what she just did, she shifted awkwardly. "Thanks for coming too, Kakashi-sensei, Naruto." She tried to cover her feeling up.

Kakashi waved his hand backwards and forwards. "It's alright Sakura, of course we were gonna come." Sakura could hear that he was trying to suppress a snicker.

The announcements came. Sakura, losing all her previous confidence she had moments ago. Her entire future as a co-ordinator rested on this one announcement.

"_Because there weren't as many contestants this time around four people will be going through, instead of the usual eight!" Tsunami spoke into her microphone._

Sakura's face fell. 'That halves my chances of getting through.' She thought worriedly.

The picture board came onto the screen.

"_The contestants continuing on are: Ino Yamanaka!"_

The sound of Ino's cheering in the background could be heard.

"_Sari!"_

A girl with long brown hair jump enthusiastically in the air.

"_Choji Akimichi."_

Choji's sigh of relief could be heard.

"_And...!"_

Sakura began sweating bullets, only one place left...

"_Sakura Haruno!"_

Sakura screeched in joy and jumped into the air. No longer listening as they called out the matches.

"Sakura!" Naruto shouted. He finally recaptured her from her dreaming. "You're on, you're battling against Ino." He informed her. Sakura looked over at Ino, who had a cocky smirk plastered on her face.

"You'll wipe the floor with her." Naruto told her.

Sakura nodded, completely ready for this battle. "I know." She replied confidently.

**-Break-**

Sakura stood at one end of the battlefield, Ino at the other, both glaring at each other.

"There is a five minute time limit! Let the contest commence!" Tsunami began the match. Both girls reached for their pokeballs, set with the pokemon they were going to choose.

"Cherubi, go!"

"Marill, go!"

Both girls released their pokemon, the pokemon they chose symbolised something ore than the contest, they both picked their starter pokemon, symbolising when their rivalry truly began from more than just to win Sasuke's attention.

"Marill kick things off with a water gun!" Ino quickly took the first move, a jet of water shot out of Marill's body towards Cherubi.

"Cherubi dodge!" Sakura called, Cherubi successfully moved out of harm's way. "Cherubi use Leech seed!" Sakura used Cherubi's trademark move, seeds spurt out of Cherubi, one connecting with Marill, vines extended from the seed and wrapped around Marill, slowly drain health from it.

**-Break-**

"I see." Kakashi spoke quietly "Using leech seed causes continuous damage against an opponent, and in a contest also cause the opponents points to deplete over time as well. Good idea Sakura."

**-Break-**

"Cherubi follow up with tackle!" Cherubi attacked the tangled Marill, with a strong shoulder thrust.

Ino growled and looked at the scoreboard. Her points were slowly depleting. "Marill use Rollout!" Ino commanded, Marill rolled into a tight ball and sped towards Cherubi, sending it high into the air. Ino watched Sakura's points drop and grinned.

"Marill Rollout again!" Once again Marill knocked Cherubi high into the air, this time at a stronger and faster rate.

"Marill Rollout!"

"Marill Rollout!" Ino continuously commanded, each attack getting stronger than the last, Ino turned to the scoreboard to see how far she was ahead of Sakura now. Too her utter shock her points had depleted as well.

**-Break-**

"A simple mistake, contests aren't about getting strong moves in, Ino was just using the same move over and over, not very glamorous or appealing." Kakashi explained.

"Oh, I thought the second round was just like battles." Naruto exclaimed loudly.

"No, contest battles are much more complicated." Kakashi told him. Sakura was doing well, he was proud.

"Eh, but sensei, you just said that Leech seed cause continuous damage over time, so why doesn't Sakura lose points?" Naruto asked puzzled.

"Because Sakura just used Leech seed the one time, Ino uses Rollout again and again, get it?"

"Kinda..." Naruto turned back to the match.

**-Break-**

Marill moved in for one last Rollout, just then the Leech seed activated again, it had taken a considerable amount of health from Marill, stopping it in it's tracks.

Cherubi completely recovered from the onslaught of Rollout, and was now in mid air.

Cherubi swung the leaves on it's head. Leaves that changed in colour were released, they shot towards Marill at a high speed, hitting it directly.

"Was that Magical Leaf." Sakura thought aloud. _'Did Cherubi learn it now.'_

The magical leaf was too much for Marill, with the added damage from Leech seed it fainted. The buzzer went, indicating that the match was over, Sakura had won.

Sakura sighed in relief, she was in the finals. She quickly ran over to Cherubi and hugged it, thanking it for battling so well.

Ino approached her, holding her fainted Marill in her arms. "Don't get used to this forehead! I'll beat you next time!" Ino quickly shouted before Sakura had a chance to say anything.

"It was a great battle Ino" Sakura replied softly. Not wanting to shout anymore.

"Yeah it was." Ino smiled softly. She extended her hand forwards, signalling Sakura to take it. Sakura stretched her hand out as well, grasping her rivals in her own. The crowd cheered loudly at the gesture of sportsmanship.

"Could the contests leave the stage so the next battle may commence please!" Tsunami called out.

Both girls left the stage, Sari and Choji both entered, eager for battle.

**-Break-**

Sakura watched as Choji won his battle, he was good. Really good, Sakura didn't know if she could beat him or not.

Sakura sat alone during the interval to give Choji a chance to rest his pokemon. Kakashi, Sasuke and Naruto weren't aloud backstage at this time. She sat alone, trying to figure out strategies to defeat Choji.

"Would the finalists please enter the stage!" The screen called. Sakura stood up and began walking. Walking towards her battle, walking towards her first ribbon.

She entered the stage, Choji stood waiting.

"The rules are the same as before, the battle is over when one pokemon faints or the time limit expires, let the final battle of the Floaroma contest begin!" Tsunami shouted.

Choji and Sakura grabbed their pokeballs. "Go Cherubi!" Sakura called. Cherubi appeared ready for the final battle.

"Go, Slugma!" Choji called, a slug made out of lava appeared. Sakura scanned it with her pokedex.

_Slugma, The Lava Pokemon, It is a species of pokemon that lives in volcanic areas. If its body cools, its skin hardens and immobilizes it. To avoid that, it sleeps near magma. _

_'He has the type advantage, but Slugma are slow. With Cherubi's speed and with Magical Leaf to attack from afar, I should have this battle in the bag.'_ Sakura thought out a seemingly flawless plan.

"Cherubi start of with Magical Leaf!" Sakura started the match, the colourful leaves shot of Cherubi towards Slugma, but didn't deal a great amount of damage, Choji did nothing in return, as if waiting for something.

"Cherubi, use Growth twice to boost your special attack!" Cherubi obeyed and powered up it's special attack. "Now, use Magical Leaf again!" The leaves once again shot from Cherubi and hit Slugma, dealing more damage this time.

Sakura looked towards the screen, Choji had lost a fair amount of points.

"Slugma use yawn." Choji spoke calmly, drowsy bubbles came from Slugma and engulfed the field, one hitting Cherubi.

_'Oh no! I've got to end this quick!'_ Sakura panicked. "Cherubi, Magical Leaf again!" The cost of her points were worth it as this time it was a critical hit. _'Yes, one more hit and Slugma should go down.' _Sakura smiled, completely unprepared for Choji's next command.

"Slugma, Recover!" Light engulfed Slugma, when it dissipated, it revealed Slugma, fully free from any damage.

Cherubi yawned loudly, sleep now taking affect, Cherubi fell to the floor, snoring softly. Sakura watched as her point bar depleted completely. If a pokemon fell a sleep it could no longer dazzle the audience and judges, therefore was an instant lose.

The buzzer went off. The match was over. Choji won. He returned Slugma to it's ball and thanked it for battling superbly. Sakura returned the sleeping Cherubi back to it's ball.

She stuck around to see Choji get awarded the Floaroma ribbon, it was only fair she did, Choji would probably have done the same if she won.

She turned to look at Kakashi, Sasuke and Naruto, they didn't look disappointed, they looked upset, however, their as pride on their faces as well. She smiled at them. She knew that at least she could reach the finals, next time she would win.

**-Break-**

Kakashi, Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura stood facing Ino, Choji and Shikamaru, they had asked where Shikamaru had been for the contest, Shikamaru dully exclaimed that he had overslept, for 6 hours, resulting in a vicious beating courtesy of Ino.

"Well Choji, how does it feel to be the first person in our academy class to win a contest!" Naruto grinned widely at the contest winner.

"What are you talking about?" Shikamaru rubbed his head, where Ino had punched him particularly hard. "Hinata already won one ages before Choji did." Shikamaru spoke nonchalantly.

Sakura and Naruto went wide eyed. "Wow. Hinata's good." Naruto exclaimed. Hinata was always so timid, he kinda guessed that she would be the furthest behind.

"Yeah, so are Shino and Kiba. They've both won two badges already as well." Shikamaru continued his confession streak.

This time it was Sasuke and Naruto whose eyes went wide. "How do you know this?" Sasuke asked, anger beginning to form in his voice.

"We met up with them a few days ago. Naturally Kiba showed off his two badges, then Shino and Hinata had two show their badges and ribbon when Kiba gloated about having the best team." Ino chattered away.

"Wait a minute!" Naruto silenced everyone. "Shikamaru, how many badges do you have?" He asked, the sleepy trainer, frightened about what his answer will be.

Shikamaru sighed. "This is so troublesome. You're not gonna like what you see." He exclaimed as he reached for his badge case, with a snap it opened, revealing two shiny badges.

If possible, Sasuke and Naruto's eyes widened further. Naruto began "You mean that-"

"That's right, at this minute in time, you're team is furthest behind, it's troublesome I know, I'd really like to take it as easy as you guys have been, but with Ino here I can't catch a break." Shikamaru sighed in envy.

Sasuke and Naruto looked at each other. Both were just as shocked as the other at Shikamaru's words.

"We've got no more time to waste!" Both yelled simultaneously. "Kakashi, Sakura, we've got to get to Eterna City NOW!" Both charged past Ino, Shikamaru and Choji and ran towards the Valley Windworks, before making a Sharp left and darted up route 205.

Sakura watched the two boys and sighed. "Sorry, got to go. Congratulations on winning again Choji." She yelled over her shoulder as she ran towards route 205 herself.

Kakashi smiled at the three young trainers before slowly walking after his three students.

"Pelip!" Kakashi stopped in his tracks and looked upwards, A blue and white pokemon with a large bill was flying over him. He extended his arm and the pokemon landed on it. In it's mouth was a letter, nicely sealed up in an envelope.

"A Pelipper mailman." Kakashi wondered as he plucked the letter from the pokemon's mouth. It quickly flew off his arm and back into the sky. Kakashi ripped open the envelope and opened the letter. Lazily he read the contents of the letter, muttering it to himself.

"Recommendation by the current champion of the world." That sentence struck out at Kakashi the most. "But I don't really want to do it." He confided in himself. "But it looks as if I don't have a choice." Kakashi folded the letter up and placed it in his pocket. He slowly began walking to catch up with Sasuke and Naruto.

"Probably have to tell them the news aswell." He spoke to himself as he continued up route 205.


	7. Eterna Forest

Naruto and Sasuke continued running at top speed, neck in neck, neither looked back to see how far Sakura and Kakashi were behind. They both stopped at the opening into Eterna forest, inside the forest blackened instantly. Both were panting hard, they turned around, to just barely see Sakura's running form catching up to them. Kakashi on the other hand was no where to be seen.

"I can't believe that we're last." Naruto panted out, yet anger was still evident in his voice.

"Totally, what have we been doing this entire time." Sasuke replied with angry pants of his own. Sakura soon appeared panting harder than both of Naruto and Sasuke.

"Guys. Slow down." Sakura gasped for air, she had never ran so much in her life.

Kakashi soon appeared, dropping from the sky, not sweating, not panting, he looked totally fine. "I took a shortcut." Kakashi bluntly pointed behind him, back towards Floaroma town. "Anyways, there's something I need to tell you."

"No time Kakashi-sensei, we have to get through the forest to Eterna City, didn't you hear, we're behind everyone else." Naruto gasped loudly, trying to get his point across clearly.

Kakashi sighed. "Very well, but Eterna forest is a maze, it will take a while to get through it. Unless we have a guide who can escort us through it quickly."

Naruto groaned loudly and weakly, before turning to the small cottage behind him, the word "Rest stop" written on a sign next to it. "There's bound to be a guide in there." He pointed to the cottage.

"If you are looking for a guide. Then perhaps I can be of assistance. Why? Because I know that forest like the back of my hand." A voice spoke from the shadows., the voice was deep and dull.

"Wait a minute, that type of voice and that weird way of talking." Naruto remembered who was there. "Shino!" Naruto pointed to the shadows. Sure enough the brown haired boy moved towards them, as stoic and quiet as ever.

"I will lead you through. Why am I doing this? Because, I need to enter Eterna forest anyway." Shino explained, completely losing Naruto's attention.

"Hey Shino, where are Kiba and Hinata? You're not that good that you can split up yet." Naruto asked looking around.

The only reply he received was Shino coughing, at that moment both Hinata and Kiba walked out of the cottage and looked around.

"Well, well, well. If it isn't Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura!" Kiba grinned as he moved towards them. "How about we finally have that battle, Hinata against Sakura, Shino against Sasuke and myself against the idiot!" Kiba laughed as he organised the battle.

"There's no time now." Sasuke quickly responded, he turned to Shino. "Can you lead us through?"

Shino nodded in return. "Hinata and Kiba shall accompany us, they will be going towards Hearthome city soon, why? Because there is a gym and another contest there."

"So we're finally going now, well I just hope you find it this time, I'm getting sick of wasting time around this forest." Kiba complained to his quiet team mate. He received no response from Shino, who had already begun walking into the forest. Sasuke, Naruto, Sakura and the guy they were with followed soon after, leaving him with Hinata.

"Let's go Hinata." Kiba sighed as he walked on. "Remember to keep up, I know Naruto's with us, but it's just for a little while, so no fainting." Kiba roared with laughter as he walked forward.

"K-Kiba-kun." A very embarrassed Hinata stuttered out, she never liked it when Kiba made fun of her feelings, she noticed that Kiba didn't stop walking and quickly caught up to him. Today was going to be a day when she was around Naruto, she wasn't prepared for this yet.

**-Break-**

As they walked through the forest, Sakura couldn't help but stare at the beauty of the forest, the leaves fell off and floated to the ground slowly, small pokemon played on the many branches. A perfect habitat.

Kakashi looked up towards Shino's Yanma, it's head buzzing in all directions as it flew above them.

"So Shino, Kiba said you were looking for something?" Kakashi asked, the younger boy.

Shino nodded in return. "Yes, a Scyther."

"A Scyther?" Kakashi sounded genuinely surprised. "I didn't think there were any Scyther in Sinnoh."

"There aren't." Shino replied, confusing Kakashi. "This Scyther is special. Why is it special? Because it was released into Eterna Forest by Aaron. Making it the only one in the forest."

"Oh, I see." Kakashi returned. "So why are you looking for it?"

"It is part of a competition. How, you ask? Whoever catches the Scyther will receive special training from Aaron himself." Shino explained, still looking in all directions.

"What's so special about this Aaron anyway?" Naruto called from the back of the group.

He jumped a bit when Shino stopped moving. He turned around to face him, looking dark, sunglasses connected with blue eyes. "Aaron is the forefront of the Bug trainer community. He is one of the best Bug type trainer's in the world, to receive training from him is nothing short of a honour." Shino glared at Naruto, before turning back around and walking on.

Everyone looked at Shino's leaving form. _'So that's why he's so eager to get this Scyther.'_

**-Break-**

"Yanma!" Everyone looked to see that Yanma had stopped moving, it was looking dead ahead.

"Yanma, what is it?" Shino asked his pokemon.

A big group of Dustox and Beautifly appeared. Naturally, all the young trainers reached for the pokedexes.

_Dustox, The Poison Moth Pokemon, It is a nocturnal pokemon that flies from fields and mountains to the attraction of streetlights at night. It looses highly toxic powder from its wings. _

_Beautifly, The Butterfly Pokemon, Its colourfully patterned wings are its most prominent feature. It flies through flower-covered fields collecting pollen. It attacks ferociously when angered. _

"Their so pretty." Sakura sighed, as she looked at the group of pokemon, which had stopped on it's travels to look at the group of people.

"Everyone get ready." Shino called out. "They appear to be planning something."

"That nonsense." Sakura brushed off Shino's warning. As she moved towards the group of pokemon.

At that moment the Dustox and Beautifly began flapping their wings violently, creating a very powerful wind.

"Sakura!" Sasuke shouted, as he ran towards her, he grabbed her by the arm when the pokemon finished their attack. "It's a whirlwind!" Sasuke shouted, being closest to the pokemon, his feet no longer touched the ground, still holding onto Sakura's arm, now also airbourne, they were sent flying on the wind away from the group.

The attack then reached the rest of the group, Hinata, being lighter than the rest was the first to go, as she soared through the air, she grabbed onto the first bit of support she could to stay with the group, unfortunately the support she grabbed was Naruto's shirt.

"Damn it!" Naruto's leaving voice could be heard cursing as he was blown away. Kakashi and Shino quickly divided behind the trees to avoid getting blown away, Kiba followed suit, ducking behind the trees.

The pokemon glared angrily, no one could be seen, slowly they carried on with the migration. Waiting for the coast to became clear, Shino, Kakashi and Kiba slowly regrouped, they looked around. No one else appeared to be close by.

"I will have to postpone my search for Scyther. Why? Because it is more important that we find the others." Shino concluded.

"We should find them soon, the sun's beginning to set." Kakashi spoke as he looked up, barely seeing the sky through the forest leaves.

Kiba grinned and grabbed two pokeballs. "Leave finding them to me!" He threw the pokeballs high, revealing two small pokemon. One red with black stripes and white fur on it's head and tail, the other covered with different shades of grey fur, with angry red eyes.

"A Growlithe and a Poochyena." Kakashi liked Kiba's idea.

"Yeah, they'll sniff out Hinata, Naruto was blown away with her yeah." Kiba grinned at his awesome idea.

"And Sasuke went with Sakura. So at least they are together." Kakashi spoke as he pulled out a pokeball of his own. "Manectric." A flash flash from the pokeball brought forth, a blue and yellow pokemon, it stood as lazily as it's trainer.

"Cool, A Manectric!" Kiba was right up in the pokemon's face, scanning it with his pokedex.

_Manectric, The Discharge Pokemon, Manectric discharges strong electricity from its mane. The mane is used for collecting electricity in the atmosphere. This pokemon creates thunderclouds above its head. _

"Manectric, Sakura and Sasuke are lost, can you track them down." Kakashi asked his pokemon.

The Manectric's lazy expression turned more serious, it nodded to it's trainer. "Manectric." It cried, it began sniffing the air along with Growlithe and Poochyena, they all turned towards the same direction.

"They must all be it that direction." Kiba spoke, they began running after the pokemon. But how long would it take to find them all?

**-Break-**

Naruto's vision was hazy. "Ow, my head." He groaned in pain as he sat up, rubbing his temple. He looked around, he had no idea where he was. "Those damn Dustox and Beautifly." He muttered under his breath, he remembered their whirlwind attack.

His eyes shot open, he remembered that it was Hinata that grabbed him, he looked around again, Hinata lay a few metres away from him, she was out for the count as well.

Naruto sighed. _'Why did it have to be Hinata I got stuck with?'_ He asked himself. He didn't dislike her, but everytime he was near her she always seemed, dark, timid and really weird. Plus she always seemed to have a major fever, her face was always red and she was nearly sweating bullets.

He slowly stumbled back to his feet and walked towards her. He crouched down next to her, she seemed to be quite content with being a sleep. A small smile on her lips. "Naruto-kun." She whispered softly.

"AHHH!" Naruto screamed loudly, Hinata's eyes shot opened followed by her body shooting up right she looked at Naruto, who looked like he was having a heart attack, she blushed at the sight of him. "How the hell did you know it was me when your eyes were closed!" He screamed in a panic.

Hinata didn't answer, the ground suddenly became very interesting for her. She thought the same thought Naruto had moments ago. _'Why did I have to be alone with just Naruto-kun'._

"We need to find the others, Hinata. Although I'm not sure how." Naruto scratched hid head.

Hinata's head popped up, a chance to prove to Naruto that she could be useful. "I-I have an idea." She stammered out as she reached for a pokeball. "Ch-Chingling." A small yellow pokemon appeared, it giggled loudly when it saw Hinata, the soothing sound of a bell, being heard.

_Chingling, The Bell Pokemon, There is an orb inside its mouth. When it hops, the orb bounces all over and makes a ringing sound. _

Naruto put away his pokedex. "Cool. But how's this gonna help?" He asked, tickling the pokemon, making it giggle and produce the bell sound again.

"E-Every time Chingling bounces it makes a ringing sound, i-if we keep it bouncing around, the other are sure to hear it." Hinata explained.

"Wow, you know you're pretty smart Hinata." Naruto smiled at her.

Blood rushed to Hinata's face, she pressed her fingers together. "B-But the sound will attract wild pokemon as well." She told him the down side, expecting him to shout at her.

Naruto grinned. "Leave the wild pokemon to me!" He laughed. "Now let's go."

**-Break-**

"Naruto! Kakashi!" Sasuke shouted, no echo, so they were probably not going to hear it. "This is getting us nowhere fast." Sasuke growled in frustration.

"We need a faster way to track them down." Sakura spoke from behind, she was quite happy to let him lead them through the forest. "I could try to have Surskit use sweet scent, but it will probably just mix with the forest's own natural scent."

Sasuke nodded and pondered for a while, with a snap he clicked his fingers. "I have an idea." He pulled out a pokeball, "Go Houndour!" Houndour came out in a flash of light and growled.

"Absolutely not!" Sakura shouted, shaking her head and crossing her arms to increase effect. Sasuke looked at her confused. "You are not burning down the forest!" She scolded him.

.

.

.

.

A sweat dropped from Sasuke head, he looked at her unimpressed. "I was going to have Houndour track Kakashi and Naruto's scent actually."

Sakura's eyes widened, followed by a full flush of her cheeks, her eyes darted to the ground. "That makes sense." She whispered. But then an idea came of her own. "Go, Sentret!" Sentret came out and looked at her happily.

"Sentret, I need you to go find Kakashi-sensei and Naruto, if you find them can you bring them back to us." She smiled at her pokemon. Sentret nodded, it turned to Sasuke, who smirked at it. Sentret glared angrily at him, before sneaking off into the bushes.

"What was that about?" Sasuke questioned Sentret's glare.

"Sentret IS the scouting pokemon after all" Sakura smiled, thinking Sasuke meant why she called out Sentret.

A group of Burmy sprung out of the bushes, they appeared to be wanting a battle. Sasuke smirked at the bug pokemon, Houndour mimicked it's trainer's smirk, smoke beginning to come out of it's mouth, the Burmy, jumped back a bit in fear. "Leave the pokemon to me." Sasuke smirked happily, this was gonna be a good day.

**-Break-**

Kakashi, Kiba and Shino were following their pokemon. Naruto, Hinata, Sasuke and Sakura all seemed to be in the same direction, perhaps they had already met up. All what's left now would be to find them.

"SCYTHER!" A large green pokemon jumped out, it's large swords for hands reflecting light off them. They looked at the Scyther, a small beeper tied around it's arm.

"That is the tracker that Aaron is using to monitor when Scyther is caught." Shino explained. The Scyther seemed to be fixated on Shino, Shino in return stared at the Scyther.

Moments passed before Shino made the first move. "Excuse us." He nodded to the Scyther and began walking on.

"Wait a minute, Shino, this is your only chance, catch it!" Kiba attempted to persuade him.

"I can't right now it is more important to find the others, perhaps another time." Shino returned.

"You know, we can probably find them without you." Kakashi reminded him, pointing at the sniffing dog pokemon. "Stay here and catch it, it is your only chance."

Shino looked down for a moment. Before pulling out a pokeball. "Yanma. Go with Kakashi and Kiba, when you find the others lead them to Eterna Mansion, the exit is just next to it. I will meet you there" Shino told them, he turned to face the Scyther.

At that moment Sentret's head bobbed out of the bushes, it scurried along the ground and pulled on Kakashi's pants leg. "This is Sakura's Sentret." He told Kiba. "It can lead us back to Sakura. Lead the way Sentret." He looked to the pokemon, it nodded before scurrying back into the bushes, Kakashi and Kiba hot on it's tail.

Shino looked at the Scyther. "Kricketune, battle."

A red bug pokemon appeared, rubbing it's two forelegs together creating a soothing music on it's arrival. Kricketune looked at the Scyther and stopped playing.

The Scyther took the first move, using a Quick Attack to strike Kricketune fast. Kricketune quickly recovered from the attack.

"Kricketune Fury Cutter." Kricketune moved towards Scyther and slashed in rapid succession. "Again. Kricketune Fury Cutter." Shino commanded, once again Kricketune cut away at Scyther dealing more damage.

"Another Fury Cutter." Kricketune moved towards Scyther, but this time Scyther recovered and moved away from Kricketune's attack.

The Scyther whirled it's swords around Sending a wave of pure vacuum at Kricketune. "I see, that was Vacuum Wave." Shino commented. He had no more time to think as Scyther charged towards Kricketune, preparing a Wing Attack.

"Kricketune Dodge and use False Swipe." Shino called. Kricketune successfully doing both, cutting away at Scyther again.

"Kricketune one more False Swipe." The stoic, level headed boy commanded his pokemon, once again Kricketune swiped away at Scyther, inflicting great damage this time.

Shino recognised Scyther's Swarm ability beginning to activate, wasting no more time, Shino went for the finisher.

"Kricketune sing." Kricketune rubbed it's long forelegs together, a calming, relaxing tune was created. The anger from Scyther's eyes faded away and began a fight to keep it's eyes open.

Without a moment lost, Shino brought out an empty pokeball and threw it. It connected with the sleeping Scyther, sucking it into the ball. The ball wobbled violently on the ground, before stopping with a ping.

"Thank you for that battle Kricketune." Shino looked towards Kricketune, it cried a happy tune as it was returned to it's own pokeball. Shino walked over and picked up his new Scyther. He stared at the pokeball, with this he could learn the secrets of strong bug pokemon. He looked towards the direction where Kiba and Kakashi left. "I hope that they are all okay." He spoke as he moved towards the exit, where he promised to meet them all.

**-Break-**

Naruto and Hinata enter a small and unusually placed clearing within the forest, dead in the centre was a large shiny, glowing green rock. It looked like it was covered in moss. The trees were surrounding the clearing but thy were organised in a straight square as if not wanting to disturb the area. The orange sunset could be clearly seen in the sky, basking the blooming flowers in it's light. Naruto and Hinata looked to the floor, hundreds of Volbeat and Illumise were gathered around each other, buzzing away.

**-Break-**

At the same moment Sakura and Sasuke enter the very same clearing but, on the other side. It was a magical sight to behold. Within an instant the Volbeat and Illumise took to flight. Lighting up there behinds, they chose a partner and began dancing around the large glowing rock, circling their chosen partner, never out of step or behind, each pair performed their own dance routine, yet it was still in sync with the rest of the swarm, small particles of shiny dust floated in the air. The lights struck out from the evening sunset.

**-Break-**

Both girls gasped in awe at the sight. Everything looked beautiful. They glanced at the male companion and blushed, thinking a similar thought. _'How romantic...'_

Both of the boys were fixated on the dancing bug pokemon, albeit for and entirely different reason than the girls. _'I wonder how much experience my pokemon will get for battling all these...'_ Was Naruto and Sasuke's shared thought.

Within an instant, it was all gone, the sun set further and the Volbeat and Illumise flew away, leaving the clearing empty except for the glowing rock. With everything gone they could see the other twosome from across the field, they walked towards each other and regrouped.

"About time you showed up idiot. We've been looking for you for ages." Sasuke quickly spoke.

"I could say the same thing, Sasuke." Naruto quickly returned. Instead of words they opted to uses their eyes, staring at each other accusingly, egging the other to make the first move.

Sentret suddenly scurried onto the field and quickly climbed up Sakura, rubbing against her cheek and snuggling on her shoulder. It was soon followed by Kakashi and Kiba, with a Growlithe, Poochyena and Manectric. A Yanma flying above their heads.

"Are we glad we found you." Kiba panted out.

"We need to go, it's getting dark. We don't want to be in here when it's dark. Murkrow and Misdreavus come out when it's dark." Kakashi added, looking at the darkening sky.

_'Murkrow.'_ The name sparked Sasuke's interest, the next gym used grass types, Houndour couldn't last by itself.

"Follow Shino's Yanma, it will lead us to the exit." Kiba instructed the rest of the group, the Yanma already taking off in the opposite direction, giving them no time to talk more.

**-Break-**

Shino sat at the bank of the pond, Yanma suddenly rested onto his shoulder, he petted it before returning it to it's ball. It was soon followed by the rest of the group arriving next to him.

"So you made it out." Shino spoke as stoic as ever.

"Yeah." Kiba panted again. "Did you catch it?"

Shino nodded and pulled out a pokeball, spinning it on his finger, then placing it back into the pocket of his baggy white coat.

"T-That's good. Well done Shino-kun." Hinata congratulated him.

"I don't believe it. Shino's awesome." Naruto spoke dumbfounded.

"Yes well done!" A voice spoke from behind them. A young man with lime green hair, piked up into one needle like spiked, moved towards them. A smile on his face.

"A-Aaron." Shino spoke, shocking everyone with the stutter.

"Finally someone caught Scyther, I was beginning to get bored." Aaron laughed. "As promised, I will teach you the secrets to unlocking the true beauty of bug pokemon, however, only if you are willing to accept."

Shino didn't answer, he turned to Kiba and Hinata. "Kiba, Hinata. If I take this opportunity what will you do? Why do I ask? Because we must remain together until one of us has one three badges or two ribbons. If I take this, you two will be stuck here and can not press onwards to Hearthome."

"Actually, I'm going to Hearthome anyway." Aaron butted in. Just giving them a heads up.

Kiba smiled and nodded towards Shino. Who nodded in return. "Very well. Aaron, if you will have me, I will happily accept your training."

"Excellent, well let's get a move on!" Aaron smiled happily and walked away, Shino walking soon after.

Kiba looked at Naruto and Sasuke and smiled. "Remember I still expect to wipe the floor with you!" He ran after Shino.

Hinata blushed and looked at Naruto, she fidgeted on the spot. Kiba's voice from a distance could be heard, telling her to huury up. She was startled a bit. "Umm. Goodbye Kakashi-san, Sakura-san, Sasuke-kun...Naruto-kun." She quickly ran away after her two teammates. Leaving team 7 alone.

"Well, whose hungry!" Naruto shouted, patting his stomach. He quickly received a punch on the head by Sakura.

"Way to spoil the moment you idiot!" Sakura screeched loudly.

**-Break-**

Team 7 sat in the Café in the Eterna city Pokemon centre. Naruto sat inhaling food at an unbelievably fast pace. Sasuke sat next to him, also inhaling all the food. Sakura sat next to Kakashi, she only ate small amounts, but the older man ate nothing.

"Well, that was an eventful day, huh." Naruto mumbled out, his cheeks filled with food.

"Yeah it was." Sakura spoke softly, taking a small glance of the raven haired boy sat next to Naruto.

"Yeah..." Kakashi added. Everything went silent for a few minutes the only sound audible was the sound of Naruto's gorging.

"Well, see ya." Kakashi smiled as he broke the silence, standing up.

"See you back at the room Kakashi-sensei." Naruto waved, not taking his eyes off the food.

"No, this is where I leave you guys." Kakashi explained. The silence returned, even Naruto stopped eating, noodles hanging half way out of his mouth.

"Where are you going?" Sasuke asked.

Kakashi sighed and fiddled around in his pocket. "I tried to tell you earlier but you were in such a rush to get to Eterna." Kakashi pulled a folded piece of paper out of his pocket and handed it to Sakura. Who read it allowed.

_Kakashi Hatake,_

_After many successful years as Hokage, leader of the 5 Kages. Hiruzen Sarutobi, A.K.A The Professor, has finally decided to retire from his position, after having to take it back up when the current Hokage at that time went on to become champion of the world._

_After much deliberation, Sarutobi has personally elected you to become his successor as Hokage. His choice was backed up by the approval and recommendation of the current champion of the world, Minato Namikaze._

_As the son of the previous world champion, Sakumo Hatake. We are delighted and honoured to have you join our ranks as Hokage. The Kazekage, Mizukage, Raikage and Tsuchikage have all approved of your selection._

_Congratulations again._

Sakura finished reading the letter. She gave it back to Kakashi with a shaky hand. Sasuke's eyes were widened, farther than Kakashi had ever seen them. Naruto dropped everything from his mouth.

"You mean that you're-" Sasuke began.

"That's right. Right now. I am the Godaime Hokage. Leader of the 5 Kages. The final challenge before facing the champion of the world."

"But that's crazy, you can't leave us!" Naruto shouted.

"Didn't you hear, I don't have a choice. Personally selected by the Sandaime Hokage, recommended by the champion of the world, already approved by the other Kages, there's no way I can turn it down. I have to do this." Kakashi told them lazily, like he hadn't been affected by the title of power.

"Well, but, who will teach all the stuff about pokemon, like proper care and training?" Sakura asked, tears beginning to form in her eyes.

Kakashi sighed, he didn't really want to leave, he was enjoying the easy life style. "I'm sorry. Bt if it will make you feel better, I will give you one last lesson."

His students looked up at him.

"Perhaps the most important one yet. How to face the impossible odds."

"And how are we supposed to learn that?" Sasuke added, he didn't seem to be that affected with his leaving, but he was probably just masking his feelings.

Kakashi's eye closed slightly, indicating that his face was present with a smirk instead of a smile. "You three are going to team up. In a six on six battle. Against me."

* * *

**A/N:** Well chapter six and seven done. I gotta say, after chapter seven I have reclaimed some of my lost will to write this fic. There are a few things I should address now before carrying on.

Pairings: At this minute I have no idea what pairings there are gonna be, I've been asked by a few people to make NaruHina, SasuSaku. That's great. But I doubt my capabilities at writing a successful pairing. So chapter seven was written as a pairing chapter, just so I could give myself a taste at how to write pairings. How did I do? Review and tell me or PM me for improvements.

Tsunami and the contest judges: I'm not gonna lie. I picked these people because I was reading The Pokemon Adventures of Team 7 by Sakura Uchiha Hyuuga no Sabaku. The choices just seemed to work well. However, that makes it unoriginal and takes away the epicness of their story. So if you have any better suggestions for the contest holder and the judges please let me know.

Kakashi's remaining three pokemon: Now I have a team ready for the battle next chapter. But I don't like the choices. Please recommend some pokemon for me to use for the battle.

Akatsuki: Sigh, we haven't seen alot of Akatsuki yet, but there are nine members confirmed, Pain, Konan, Itachi, Zetsu, Kisame, Hidan, Kakuzu, Sasori and Deidara. That means that there is one free spot for the Akatsuki ten. I dont want to use Tobi because I have my own plans for Tobi, the same with Orochimaru, I have plans for the Sannin, so I need someone to fill that tenth slot. I was planning to use my OC from my other fic, Teihaku. But that might not sit well with everyone. So I am leaving it up to you guys to decide the last member, it can be anyone from the Naruto universe or the Pokemon Universe. Leave your ideas in a review.

Well that's pretty much it. Next chapter will be specifically the battle between Sasuke, Naruto and Sakura vs. Kakashi. So it might be a bit shorter than the rest, but if I can squeeze 3000 words into it I will. Til next time... Oh yeah, I don't mean to sound pushy or anything but I won't update until i recieve ten new reviews, sorry. And it can't be the same person reviewing ten times. So please follow the three R's: Read, Review and Rate awesomeness. That and I hope you guys enjoyed reading these two chapters.

Till next time.

This is Rinne-Kami saying: What's under Double D's hat?


	8. Against The Hokage

**A/N:** Yo! Remember me XD! I finished this chapter in a day. Wow, almost a whole month of not updating. A few reasons really, College and exams, I started Becoming The Legend, and quite frankly I was scared to write this chapter because it seemed like it was getting a lot of negative criticism for it. However, I pressed on and here we are. A battle chapter dedicated for Kakashi's farewell, I'm suprised that I managed to make it 3000 words if I'm honest. There's one person that I would like to thank a lot for help in understanding problems with my writing, this story and basically help me improve. So to **Wynth**-sensei (I haven't cleared the whole sensei thing with her yet! XD) thank you so much for all your help, reading through this it will probably look like I haven't made much of an improvement, but trust me, the oncoming chapters will be much better. You recieve the official seal of Awesomeness (Google it).

With that said, let's movee on to the long over due Chapter 8 of To Become A Master

* * *

Kakashi stood lazily at one end of a makeshift battlefield, his three students stood at the over end, facing him down. The sun began setting over the trees that surrounded them, all but the sound of wild pokemon had stopped, leaving the four within their own little world.

"I'd ask if your sure you want to do this, but you don't have a choice." Kakashi called out. Sakura, Sasuke and Naruto all stood unresponsive. "Tell you what. If you guys win, I'll pull some strings and decline the Hokage position and stay with you."

They responded. Their heads jolted up, facing him with a new determination. Kakashi was surprised that even Sasuke looked determined to keep him in the group, and Sasuke didn't like anyone.

"Then you're going down!" Naruto called out.

"Good to see you're in the mood to battle now." Kakashi smiled. "This is what will happen, each of you will face two of my pokemon. Each battle will accumulate to one point, and whoever has more points at the end wins." Kakashi explained.

"I don't get it!" Naruto replied happily, the thunderous strike to his head by Sakura could be heard even from the distance Kakashi was standing from.

"Basically, if one of your pokemon beats mine you get one point, oppositely if my pokemon beats yours I get one point. So if more of your pokemon beat mine, you guys win." Kakashi explained further.

"But Kakashi-sensei." Sakura called out this time. "What happens if we get three points each?"

"I vamoose." Kakashi responded bluntly. "Another lesson is this, something you three should already know. The importance of winning, very rarely will things result in a draw, you must make it so you are on top."

Kakashi's words alarmed the three kids, he didn't mean to be this harsh. But perhaps they could begin to understand the pressure of major league tournaments put on the participants, such as the Pokemon League or the Grande Festival. "I'll give you a few minutes to organise yourselves."

**

* * *

**

Sasuke, Naruto and Sakura huddled together in a collective circle. "Alright, what do we know about Kakashi?" Sasuke was the first to speak.

Their was a collective silence between the three of them.

"That...he is Hokage material?" Naruto worriedly pointed out, scared of receiving another punch by Sakura, who did look like he was going to hit him again.

"Exactly." Sasuke nodded, saving Naruto's life, as Sakura looked at Sasuke like, well like he had just agreed with Naruto. "Kakashi IS the Hokage now. Meaning that we won't stand a chance against him." Sasuke confessed, Naruto looked like he had just been insulted. "But that doesn't mean I'm not going to battle him, imagine, just battling the Hokage now is huge experience for us as trainers. We can't afford to miss this opportunity. We need a battle plan."

Sakura and Naruto nodded in agreement before Sasuke continued. "Now what do we know about his pokemon, his battle style, his techniques?"

Again the silence rang out. Truth be told, they had never seen Kakashi battle, excluding the time when they first met him, he always stood at the sidelines and allowed them to do all the battling.

"Well, we know that he has a Ditto, Sudowoodo and Manectric." Sakura put in her two cents.

"Right, Ditto will be a proble-"

"Wait a minute. Wait a minute, wait a minute!" Naruto almost yelled, grabbing both their attentions, Naruto looked deadly serious. "Who put Sasuke in charge!"

Sakura and Sasuke both slapped Naruto around the back of his head together. "I did!" Sasuke growled out. "You don't think when you go into a battle, you're style is unorthodox, made up on the spot, something that won't work against Kakashi, we need a strategy, something your mind can't comprehend."

Naruto glowered at Sasuke darkly. "Call me unorthodox again and see what you get!" Naruto growled out. Once again Sasuke and Sakura slapped him around the head.

"That wasn't an insult!" Sasuke pointed out. "Now." He began regaining his composure. "Ditto will be the problem, because we don't have a pokemon that is super effective against it's own type. As for Sudowoodo, Turtwig, Carvanha, Cacnea, Surskit and Cherubi should have a type advantage, but experience will let us down. Manectric will also be a problem, but Dig with our Eevee's will prove useful." Sasuke explained. "Now what does Kakashi know about us?"

"Everything." Sakura sighed in defeat already. "He knows our pokemon, our attacks, he taught us our strategies!" Her voice began raising. "As long as he can see what pokemon we pick, he can change his battle plans to work around our disadvantages."

All three huddled in silence again, there seemed to be no way they could possibly win this battle.

Naruto suddenly broke away from the huddle, Sakura and Sasuke looked at him as he faced Kakashi.

"Kakashi-sensei." Naruto called, grabbing the man's attention. "Because you made the challenge against us, you have to summon the pokemon you're going to be using first, okay."

"Okay." Kakashi gave a thumbs up, at least they were planning.

Naruto rejoined the huddle. "There. It's not much, but now we can plan our strategies around the pokemon Kakashi chooses."

Sasuke and Sakura looked at Naruto like he was a saviour. "That was actually genius, Naruto." Sasuke pointed out.

Naruto grinned sheepishly and scratched his nose. "Thank Lee, he pulled the same stunt against me."

"Now, with that slight advantage in our favour, how do we organise ourselves?" Sakura asked Sasuke directly, as he had been organising their entire plan.

"Kakashi will most likely expect Naruto to go first. I think that you should go first Sakura, then Naruto will go, then me." Sasuke answered. "Agreed." Sasuke held out his hand in the middle of all three of them, Naruto and Sakura, soon put their own hands on top of his. "Let's do this!" Naruto shouted in glee.

* * *

Sakura stepped forward and moved into the battler's square, she faced down Kakashi, who looked rather bored of waiting.

"So you're going first Sakura, I was expecting that Naruto would charge head first." Kakashi spoke from across the field, Naruto sweatdropped from behind Sakura, while Sasuke let out a dry chuckle. "Shall we begin." Kakashi spoke once again, drawing out a pokeball. With a lazy throw, his pokeball was sent forwards, opening to reveal Sudowoodo.

_'Sudowoodo.'_ Sakura remembered the pokemon. _'It knows Rock Slide, which will inflict heavy damage against Surskit, so it looks like my only choice is...'_ "Go Cherubi!" Sakur'as pink pokemon appeared with a spin. "Cherubi!" It chimed happily.

"I'll start!" Sakura spoke again quickly. "Go Cherubi, use Magical Leaf!" Multicolour changing leaves shot out of Cherubi, they struck Sudowoodo, that closed it's eyes upon impact, however when the leaves stopped, it opened it's eyes and smirked.

"Sudowoodo." It responded. Kakashi only took in Sudowoodo's appearance after the attack, it had barely been scathed. "Sudowoodo, use Hammer Arm." Kakashi commanded. Sudowoodo charged forwards, it's arm glowing with power, it struck Cherubi dead on top of the head with one powerful downward thrust. Cherubi was out for the count.

Sakura stared in astonishment, Cherubi was her best Pokemon, and Kakashi beat it with one move, all her confidence that she had gained through Sasuke's planning was lost instantly. She returned her fainted Cherubi back to it's ball. And drew out another while Kakashi returned his Sudowoodo back to it's ball.

Kakashi drew out a new pokeball. "Go Ditto." He called out lazily. Kakashi's purple blob of a pokemon cried out upon it's releasing.

Ditto was a problem for Sakura, she had no pokemon that were fast or strong enough to knock out Ditto in one hit, but perhaps if she used a pokemon with few attacking moves, she could counteract Ditto's transform. She quickly changed the pokeball she had previously brought out with another. "Sentret go!" She threw her pokeball, with a flash Sentret appeared, before jumping back to Sakura and nuzzling against her neck. "Okay, Sentret." Sakura chuckled. "I need you to battle okay." Sentret nodded and jumped onto the field, glaring at the equal sized Ditto.

"Ditto transform." Kakashi called out, instantly Ditto began morphing into an exact replica of Sentret.

'Okay, so Ditto now knows all of Sentret's moves, Foresight, Scratch, Quick Attack and Defence Curl.' Sakura thought, trying to plan some sort of strategy. "Sentret, start off with Defence Curl!"

Sentret curled up into a tight ball, prepared for any attack.

"Ditto use Quick Attack." Kakashi spoke, Ditto darted towards the ball that was Sentret and with the quick force, slammed Sentret into a tree, Sentret opened up in pain as it ricocheted off the tree and back towards Ditto. "Now use Scratch." Ditto sharpened it's sharp claws and scratch at the incoming form of Sentret, once again Sakura's pokemon were quickly defeated. Sakura looked at her swirly eyed Sentret. As Sasuke said, she wasn't expecting a win, how could she defeat the Hokage at this stage, what was worse was that she didn't even manage to receive any experience from this battle. With yet another sigh of defeat she returned Sentret to it's pokeball.

"Sakura." Kakashi spoke while returning Ditto. "You've focused on making your moves attractive and appealing, but you have no power behind them, that's something on you to work on or you'll never win the second round of a contest. Now send in whoever's next please." Kakashi smiled, as Sakura retreated out of the battler square.

**

* * *

**

Naruto leapt forward into the battler square, he understood that it was all up to him to level things out, he didn't want Kakashi to leave. But even Naruto knew that Kakashi might not have the choice to stay. Quickly Naruto threw his pokeball out. "Go Staravia!" Naruto's bird pokemon flew outwards, prepared for the oncoming battle.

Kakashi didn't look impressed. "Go Manectric." Kakashi called out.

Naruto wasted no time, as soon as Kakashi's pokemon appeared he was on the attack. "Staravia, use Quick Attack!"

"Manectric, dodge." Kakashi sighed lazily, Manectric did so effortlessly. "Now use Thunder Fang." Sparks of electricity flew out of Manectric many fang's, it chomped down hard on Staravia's body before Naruto even had time to think about commanding Staravia to dodge. Staravia dropped down to the ground unconscious, another one hit KO for Kakashi.

Naruto growled in anger as he returned Staravia to his ball. Quickly swiping a new one he threw it high. "Turtwig!" Naruto's turtle pokemon, just like Staravia before it, was totally prepared for the battle.

Kakashi sighed even louder than the time before, Naruto could clearly hear Sakura and Sasuke smacking their foreheads. Kakashi returned Manectric before throwing his own new pokemon.

"Abomasnow!" Kakashi's large white pokemon cried out, the air suddenly grew winter night cold. Heavy snow surrounded the field, Sasuke and Sakura ducked behind their arms to avoid the incoming snow that pelted them, which was beginning to harden into hail.

Naruto squinted to see through the Hail, drawing out his Orange pokedex.

_Abomasnow, The Frost Tree Pokemon, It blankets wide areas in snow by whipping up blizzards. It is also known as "The Ice Monster."_

"Abomasnow, use Ice Shard." Naruto heard Kakashi command through the blizzard, Naruto could see beyond his nose, he guessed it was the same for Turtwig.

"Turtwig!" Naruto heard his pokemon cry out in pain, Naruto noticed that the blizzard had begun passing, allowing Naruto to see the outcome of the short match. Turtwig lay fainted on the blanket of snow that covered the field. Kakashi stood with his arm extended, a pokeball in hand, with his Abomasnow nowhere in sight, another one hit KO.

"Naruto, I thought this was a lesson you already learned by now." Kakashi reprimanded him. "When you made that request that I release my pokemon first, I thought you had learned something, so you could strategise, but you throw that advantage away by rushing head first. I knew all of your pokemon Naruto, yet I still had three you had never seen, and you blew it and got the snot beaten out of you. Come Sasuke, I hope you can do better."

* * *

Sasuke replaced Naruto in the opposite battler square to Kakashi, there was no need for him to battle, Kakashi had won four matches, they wouldn't even be able to tie against him. But Sasuke was still willing to have a battle. He waited calmly for Kakashi to release his pokemon.

Kakashi knew that Sasuke wasn't the conversation type. So he didn't waste his time, he drew out a pokeball and threw it. A large blue pokemon, with white fluffy clouds for wings appeared. It didn't look harmful at all. Weird for Kakashi's title. Sasuke reached for his black pokedex to scan the pokemon.

_Altaria, The Humming Pokemon, Altaria dances and wheels through the sky among billowing, cotton-like clouds. By singing melodies in its crystal-clear voice, this pokemon makes its listeners experience dreamy wonderment._

Sasuke read over the details of this mysterious pokemon. _'It says her that it is a Dragon and Flying type. Problematic, the only pokemon I have that could cause even the slightest of fair damage would be Carvanha, guess I'll go with him.' _Sasuke concluded. He picked Carvanha's pokeball and threw it. His Piranha pokemon appeared snapping it's jaws.

"I'll start with Dragonbreath." Kakashi spoke. A blue fire erupted from Altaria's mouth.

"Carvanha dodge." Sasuke battled back, Carvanha actually managing to dodge Altaria's attack. "Follow up with a quick Ice Fang!" Sasuke's voice rose, Carvanha landed in close proximity to Altaria, surely it couldn't dodge in time.

And he was right, Carvanha's Icy teeth met with the body of Altaria. Altaria winced and cried from the pain and began shaking it's body wildly, trying to lose the grip Carvanha had on it.

"Altaria use Fly." Kakashi commanded, right away Altaria calmed down and took off, soaring high into the sky. The higher Altaria got the harder Carvanha found it to keep it's grip the air resistance against it was to strong, it's teeth unhinged as it began falling back to the earth. "Use Dragon Pulse." Kakashi called out. A strange blue and purple aura exploded out of Altaria and struck Carvanha, speeding up it's drop to the floor.

Wasting no time, Sasuke returned Carvanha to it's ball as it was falling to the floor. It had been knocked out instantly because of the Dragon Pulse. Allowing Carvanha to connect with the floor was just uncalled for. Sasuke frowned at the pokeball, but waited for Kakashi to return Altaria and send out a new pokemon.

A black pokemon appeared, it looked like an ancient relic, many pink eyes surround it's head, it's bulbous arms ending in small thin stumps. "Claydol." It's cry was almost robotic.

_Claydol, The Clay Doll Pokemon, Claydol is an enigma that appeared from a clay statue made by an ancient civilization dating back 20,000 years. This POKÉMON shoots beams from both its hands._

_'A Psychic Ground type.'_ Sasuke inwardly cursed. Carvanha would have been a better match up for this. Sasuke didn't know which of his pokemon to choose. He decided to go with his instinct and use his best. "Go, Houndour!"

Houndour growled as it flashed onto the field.

"There's no point in drawing this out Sasuke." Kakashi spoke from across the field. ""Claydol, wait for Houndour to get close." Claydol nodded in response.

"Houndour use bite!" Sasuke called out, Houndour ran straight towards Claydol, it's fangs almost enlarging as it opened it's mouth wide.

Kakashi waited for Houndour to get so close it had no escape, Houndour jumped up to get a better reach on Claydol. "Selfdestruct." Kakashi commanded. Claydol glowed with power building from within itself, the power exploded out of Claydol, engulfing the field in a bright opaque light.

Sasuke, blocked the light from reaching his eyes with his arm, waiting for the light to die down, when it did he saw Houndour and Claydol both on the floor, swirls replacing their eyes.

Both Kakashi and Sasuke returned their respective pokemon to their pokeballs. "Sasuke." Kakashi spoke first. "You're definitely the best out of you three at the moment, but I've watched you train. But you're still lacking compassion for your pokemon. You view them as a source for your power, instead of viewing them as your friends and partners. Learn to do that Sasuke, the rewards are much more beneficial.

* * *

All four of them stood in the field where their previous battle took place, they had returned here after visiting the pokemon centre for the healing of their pokemon, the children refused to talk to Kakashi, and Kakashi didn't know what to say to them.

Kakashi stood with his Altaria, ready to take off, he faced his three students one last time. Each one looked more miserable than the last. "This won't be the last time we meet, you'll see me again, and maybe then you'll be better prepared for a battle." Kakashi smiled as he hoped on to Altaria's back. "One more thing." Kakashi added. His three students looked up at him. "Remember teamwork. There's a reason that it was the first thing you learned about in the academy." He smiled and waved as Altaria took into the sky, taking their sensei away from them.

The trio waved back, but only half heartedly. The sound of Altaria's flapping wings slowly left them, leaving them in complete silence in the night.

"Let's go back to the pokemon centre." Sakura mumbled as she and Sasuke turned to the pokemon centre's direction.

Naruto caught up with them. "So what now. Do we hurry on out of this town." Naruto asked inquisitively.

"No, I don't really feel like travelling." Sakura replied to Naruto's question. She was to depressed to move long distance, while he was there it didn't seem like Kakashi did much, she only realised how mush she needed him now that he had gone.

Sasuke remained silent on the walk back to the pokemon centre, Kakashi gave him lots of advice for training, he needed Kakashi a lot, although training under the Hokage was a huge ego boost, things couldn't get any worse for him now that they were alone.

* * *

"What is it?" His eyes darted to his most trusted pokemon companion. It's large claw pointing in the direction of Eterna City.

"Eterna City? Why does that have you excited, Charizard?" He responded.

His Charizard responded with quiet roars, mimicking the shape of a spiky hairstyle with it's claws and point to his owner's face.

"I see, so he is there?" He concluded, his Charizard nodded happily. "Would you like to go see him?" His Charizard nodded happily again. Begging to take off. "Then go ahead, I'll catch up." He smiled at his pokemon, with glee his Charizard took off into the darkening orange sky, heading in the direction of Eterna City.

The gust of wind Charizard's wings caused it's trainer's cloak, to flutter wildly inn the wind. The red clouds engraved on the black fabric were covered by the same fabric, showing the red interior of the cloak.

He watched his pokemon soar through the air for a few moments, before he began his own descent down the mountain, towards Eterna City.

* * *

**A/N:** Well how was it? Hopefully Sakura and Sasuke will be getting more character development over the next few chapters (It's obvious who mystery man at the end is right?) I'm trying to slow things down and the team will be in Eterna for a while, there's a few side stories I want to do, that can be done.

Oh and good news, I've got my bad guys! They will be called _**Team Origin**_. Quite a lame name I know, and I was torn between using a revamped Team Rcket and this, but you will understand their name when their leader's goals become clear.

All the Akatsuki member's are present and accounted for, I'm really looking forward to when they become more apparant in the story and I plot for the Sannin has been concocted, so all in all, this story's finally going to get somewhere.

Remember to review, I'm going to do A Complete Family, Incomplete next as well as another chapter of Becoming The Legend. Plus I'm devising a revision schedule that starts tommorrow, I failed both my mocks, badly.

Til next time.

This is Rinne-Kami sayin-

Oh wait! One last thing, for all you Pokemon Master Naruto fans, written by Pink Cherries, I don't know if I should tell you this, but I love that fic and I can't contain the news any longer. Pokemon Master Naruto has been successfully adopted and will hopefully be updated real soon XD XD XD!

This is Rinne-Kami sayng: Why do low levels gunmen in movies have such bad aim?


	9. Team Bonding

**A/N:** Yo! Me again. I was planning to update this at the same time as A Complete Family,Incomplete and Becoming The Legend's new chapters as well, but I felt that after the last chapter I owed you guys something. So here we are, the aftermath of Kakashi's departure. Not an incredibly thought out chapter, but it is character developing I'll give it that, I'm not saying it's bad, quite the contrary, it's actually pretty good.

Well, that's it for now.

* * *

For the pokemon centre at this time of night, it was surprisingly dead. The bleeping sound of machines was the only thing to break the silence.

Sat in the corner of the pokemon centre café were three, young teenagers that looked like they had had everything taken from them.

"I-I can't believe he still actually left." Naruto stammered out.

"Believe it." Sasuke replied bluntly, he was hurt as well. Kakashi had left before he even had a chance to prove that he was developing as a trainer, now the last thing Kakashi would remember about them was how he wiped the floor with them so easily.

"Naruto." Sakura got the blonde's attention, her facial expression showed sadness. "I'm sorry."

Naruto looked at his pink team mate confused. "Where did that come from?" He chuckled lightly, but not to the fullest extent that he could have, he didn't feel like laughing at all.

"Kakashi-sensei said team work is the most important thing. And I haven't been acting like a very good team mate. I insult you, I belittle you, a hit you. What do people think of me as a trainer if I treat a human this way." Sakura slunk back further into her chair, moping horribly.

"In that case I'm sorry too." Naruto responded. Sakura looked up quizzed. "I'm not fair to either you or Sasuke. I'm so eager to catch up to my brother and my dad that I need to rush from town to town collecting badges that I don't think about what you guys want to do. I just think about myself." Naruto reclined into a similar position to Sakura.

However both their eyes turned to their third silent team mate, he could feel their stare as he looked up from the very interesting floor. Both were waiting for him to add something as well, his own recollection of his actions towards his two other team mates.

"Sorry." Sasuke mumbled almost incoherently. Sliding out from the table, he slowly walked away from the pair, heading for the Pokemon centre entrance.

Naruto was about to slide out after him when Sakura stopped him, shaking her head gently. "Sasuke-kun's not the type to apologise, just give him some space, he'll come around." She couldn't bring herself to smile. Kakashi leaving hurt too much.

* * *

The street lights shone above Sasuke as he walked through the streets of Eterna. His shadow extending and shortening as he passed under each one, as if his shadow were two separate people, one big and one small. He allowed his feet to take him anywhere they wanted as they patted the cement of the streets.

His thoughts were constantly on Kakashi, his leaving opened a large gateway for many emotions to pass through. The most apparent was definitely sadness, Kakashi was lazy, most of the time he was unresponsive, but he was still a good sensei. He taught Sasuke many things on training and care of pokemon, now he left Sasuke was unsure if he could learn these things himself.

Jealousy also plagued his mind, Kakashi's pokemon were ferocious in battle, they wasted no time in taking down there opponents, couldn't his own pokemon be like that, these thoughts connect to his anger, if Kakashi had these at his disposal, why didn't he show them to him, he could have learned so much more than he had done.

Eventually, all his thoughts led to a person besides Kakashi. Kakashi defeated him so easily, and he knew that his brother was better than Kakashi. It opened up grim ideas for himself, he had been so preoccupied with catching up to Itachi, he forgot about the possibility of Itachi moving ahead as well, becoming better and stronger with each day passing. Could he really even catch up to his brother, would he ever be able to step out of his shadow.

Sasuke knew what had to be done, he was unlike Sakura and Naruto. When they hit a hurdle they stopped, Kakashi's departure was the hurdle. One thing Sasuke had respected about Naruto was that his spirit never left. Even after losses, with the slightest encouragement he would pick himself back up, but not this time, they were both quite content to sit and wallow in their misery.

Sasuke wasn't like that, he would leap over this hurdle, his mind, body and spirit would strengthen when he touched the floor after the leap. Kakashi became something more now that just a sensei, he was a goal, if Sasuke could defeat Kakashi the next time they met, he would be moving ever closer to Itachi's progress.

He needed training, he needed to be stronger. Luckily his body felt exactly the same, his feet had led him straight to the entrance of Eterna Forest. Bug pokemon were notorious for aspiring trainers, pokemon like Beautifly and Dustox gave out high amounts of experience, yet they were incredibly weak.

_'If I can defeat 100 bug pokemon tonight...'_ Sasuke thought to himself with new found determination, stepping into the forest. _'I can defeat 200 over the course of tomorrow.'_

The forest was different. The moonlight that had been like an eternal night light failed to break through the leaves of the forest like the sun had managed to earlier. Before the bug pokemon danced over head, dancing and basking in the coloured leaves and rays of the sun. This was like a whole new world, the darkness of the forest surrounded Sasuke, the humid temperatures created a thin mist of the floor. Eyes stared from every direction, glaring at the disturber of their forest. This bleak environment was perfect for Sasuke. He had never enjoyed the light.

"Murkrow!" A black wings took off, Sasuke smirked at the irony, he did think about something flying over head. The Murkrow overhead circled him like a vultures waiting for their meal to draw it's last breath.

Glowing red beads, passed through the ground and trees, followed by a flowing black body. "Misdreavus." Small ghost pokemon spoke hauntedly, like a small child.

_Murkrow, The Darkness Pokemon, Feared and loathed by many, it is believed to bring misfortune to all those who see it at night. It is said that when chased, it lures its attacker onto dark mountain trails where the foe will get lost._

_Misdreavus, The Screech Pokemon, Misdreavus frightens people with a creepy, sobbing cry. The pokemon apparently uses its red spheres to absorb the fearful feelings of foes and turn them into nutrition. _

True to the pokedex description, the Misdreavus gang screeched, it was worse than Sasuke imagined, it was unnatural.

_'Looks like I won't be battling Bug pokemon.'_ Sasuke grabbed a pokeball in each hand, the Murkrow and Misdreavus launched themselves towards Sasuke.

"Eevee! Cacnea!"

* * *

"I still don't see what Sasuke's problem is?" Naruto informed Sakura, both sat in pokemon centre still, waiting for their third raven haired team mate to return.

"Think about it. Sasuke-kun isn't used to losing badly, he's not even used to losing at all. When we were at the academy, Sasuke went the three years we were there undefeated during the pokemon sessions." Sakura reminded Naruto. "Even then he was also desperately trying to improve. He mentioned his brother. The day we collected our pokedexes. I'm not from Twinleaf town like you, Sasuke and Shikamaru. What was his brother like?"

Naruto sat back on his chair. "Itachi? A great guy. He was four years younger than my brother, and honestly, he was a hell of a lot better as a trainer. He and Volkner became the pride of Twinleaf town, everywhere I went it was "Volkner is a fabulous trainer." "Become a trainer just like you're brother." I can only assume it was the same for Sasuke. Everybody in town loved Itachi, he'd take months off as a trainer just to allow us to play with his pokemon. When he got recruited into Akatsuki, it destroyed the town spirit, it was if everybody forgot about Volkner."

"What about your dad? Surely having the champion of the world being from the town should raise their spirit?" Sakura asked confused.

"Dad's not from Twinleaf." Naruto stated it as if everybody knew. "He was born and raised in Sunyshore. He moved to Twinleaf before Volkner was even born cause mom wanted a more peaceful environment to raise children than the city. It's quite funny, Grandpa wanted Dad to study at Professor Sarutobi's prestigious academy, so he used to have Dad fly across Sinnoh on a Staraptor everyday for the one year Dad was at the Academy before he passed."

Sakura only nodded in understanding, her mouth slightly agape.

"Anyway, I think that's why Sasuke want to be the best so badly. Living in Itachi's shadow, I think in his mind he wants to prove to everyone in Twinleaf that they can look at him like they looked at Itachi." Naruto finished, that was one of the reasons he wanted to be friends with Sasuke. Because Sasuke knew what Naruto was going through. "What about you Sakura? I don't know anything about you. Why did you want to be a Pokemon Co-ordinator?"

Sakura looked shocked at the question "Oh. Well, I've lived my whole life in Sandgem Town. I have no one famous from my family, no Pokemon masters, no champions. In fact my story sounds horrible compared to yours and Sasuke-kun's."

"Go ahead and tell me." Naruto spoke softly. Resting onto the palm of his hand.

Sakura shifted slightly under his stare. "Well, I used to be called a lot of names when I was younger, I didn't have many friends, when I started the academy I met Ino, she was so pretty, everybody liked her, she became my best friend and my rival. She lived so far away that I only saw her at the academy. One day when she was round my house she showed me a pokemon contest on TV. I was fascinated at how gorgeous they made even the most physically unattractive pokemon become. I knew then that I wanted to be a pokemon co-ordinator."

Naruto only nodded as she told her story. "So what about you?" He heard her ask. "Any particular reason you chose to be a Pokemon trainer?"

Naruto shrugged his shoulders. "Grandpa did it. Dad does it. Mom use to do it. Brother does it. I should as well."

Sakura's eyebrow rose. "There's more to it then that isn't there?"

Naruto sighed. Sakura willingly told him her reasons, he should have the decency to do the same. "My story's like Sasuke's. Living in three people's shadows. And they were big shadows. My dad became the Hokage at 19, then he went on to become Champion of the world a year later so Professor Sarutobi had to retake the title. Grandpa was an amazing trainer, but I've never seen him battle, he was Sunyshore's Gym leader, but Gardenia said he's just retired, so maybe he'll have some more free time now. My brother became an amazing trainer overnight as well. The people I'm surrounded with, Jiraiya of the Sannin, a few Gym leaders. Because of all these people expect me to be just as good as them, it's a lot of pressure, I need to be good and I need to be good fast. I don't have time to waste."

"So that's why you're rushing everywhere." Sakura commented, Naruto nodded slowly. "You know, rushing through places won't make you good, you'll just get done quicker. Standing still and thinking for a moment, that's what will make you better." After those words Sakura began laughing.

Naruto didn't get the joke. "What's so funny?"

"It's just." Sakura started to regain her breath. "I'm starting to think Kakashi-sensei never intended to stay with us, even if we won that battle. If he did, we wouldn't have done team bonding like this. He was always going on about team work."

Naruto chuckled as well, getting the joke. He quickly slide out of the table and stood up, Sakura looked confused, so he answered. "Let's go get Sasuke. He needs to be in on this team bonding as well." He gave her a thumbs up.

Sakura smiled and nodded, sliding out of her seat as well, she stood next to Naruto and began walking out of the pokemon centre with him.

They weren't really paying attention. So when the door opened as they were walking through, they didn't expect someone to be on the other side. They bumped straight into the taller person. And fell to the floor.

Rubbing their heads as they slowly sat upright, they saw in front of them an all to familiar black cloak, complete with red clouds, following the cloak upwards, their eyes set on the face of the person in front of them.

Shock. That was all that could be read on their faces.

"Well, well, well." The voice was calm, a smile smile set on the lips. "If it isn't Naruto-kun."

* * *

Sasuke dived away from the incoming peck. Picking up his dropped pokeball, he rolled back over, landing comfortably back on his knee. Like the Murkrow before them, the Misdreavus group's anger rose dramatically. Sasuke cursed himself.

_'I accidentally caught the leader of the Misdreavus group as well.' _Fortunately when pokemon were in groups the leader was the strongest. Unfortunately, now that they lost their leader the remaining pokemon wanted revenge.

"Cacnea, Poison Sting!" Sasuke called out, Cacnea launched purple needles, but the aerial Murkrow dodged effortlessly, coming in they struck Cacnea again with another powerful Wing Attack. It was all Cacnea could take.

Sasuke gritted his teeth, Cacnea was his last remaining pokemon, his two new ones, weren't healed enough to be used yet. Sasuke jumped out of the incoming night shade, returning Cacnea back to it's ball, he could now focus on dodging the many attacks coming his way.

He jumped again to avoid a Psybeam, however when he was in the air a Murkrow swooped in, pecking him hard in the stomach, knocking Sasuke down. He had little time to recover, he was surrounded. The Misdreavus and Murkrow circling him, inching closer. Sasuke needed something to get out of this predicament and he needed it quick.

A large roar filled the forestry, a roar not associated with any bug pokemon present in the forest.

A large black dragon crashed down in front of Sasuke, making the very earth tremble under it. It's black and red wings flapped open as it roared again, it's flame tipped tail above it's head changing the lighting, making it look more intimidating.

_'A shiny Charizard.' _Sasuke recognised the body shape of the pokemon. What was one of those doing here?

Fire erupted from the Charizard's mouth. It was intense, hotter than a volcano. The fire spread across the majority of the group, instantly knocking them out.

_'I know that move!'_ Sasuke looked at the Charizard making the fire. _'That's Blast Burn!'_

Fire engulfed the area at the Charizard's feet. The Charizard standing firm in the middle of it, it produce a low growl from it's mouth, bearing the large fangs in it mouth.

The remaining Misdreavus and Murkrow wept tears of terror from their eyes and quickly high tailed it out of there. The flames around the Charizard burning for a moment, before the Charizard swung it's huge tail, putting them out.

Sasuke stood up slowly. _'A black Charizard that knows Blast Burn. It can't be.'_ Sasuke stared at the back of the Charizard.

The Charizard turned and in one fluid movement pounced onto Sasuke, tackling him back to the floor.

Sasuke gasped for air under the weight of the Charizard, the horns on it's head poking him as it nuzzled against Sasuke's own neck, a happy growl being released all the while.

The Charizard let up slightly, smiling down at Sasuke. "Charizard. If you here, the-"

"Are you alright." A incoming voice spoke out to him. To the right stood Naruto and Sakura on either side of a person. The familiar black cloak, with red clouds covered most his body. Black hair framed his face around blacker eyes. Two prominent creases under each eye. _Him_. He smirked at Sasuke. "Foolish little brother?"

* * *

**A/N:** Well, how was it, Review please! I quite enjoyed the Sakura/Naruto scene, they explain a bit more about themselves, as well as give us a bit of background information about them. I liked how Sasuke took everything as well, it just seemed so... Sasuke. Yeah Itachi's Charizard is a shiny Charizard, they just look so much cooler.

If I can write another chapter before Christmas I will, it will be the introduction of Team Origin, Itachi will be teaming up with Team 7 to stop there plans, so hopefully, if my skills have improved, expect an epic battle. Need to think of some commanders in Team Origin as well, may just make them up and give them code names. Like Saturn Mars and Jupiter from DPP.

I'm gonna be taking down the Bio chapter and reissuing it soon, with more updated info in more detail, probably at the end of a different chapter. It will include hometowns, awards and stuff

Well that's pretty much it. Other than that, I want to wish you a merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah (sorry if I spelt that wrong) or whatever your holiday is this season. And remember the meaning behind the holiday season, that's it's not how much you get, it's who you're with. So I know this sounds cheesy and stuff but spare a thought for those whose husbands, wives, brothers, sisters, fathers, mothers, sons and daughters who can not be with them this season, who are still in the Middle East or have been lost there. Thank You.


	10. Akatsuki's ORIGIN

**A/N:** Yo! Well, My longest chapter yet for this fic. Most of my chapters recently for my stories have been kinda short for my liking, so I'm hoping this will take me out of the rut.

Anyway. Onto the chapter. It had alot to live upto by the last chapters standards. That was my best one yet. And in my opinion. I believe this has met those standards. Definately my favourite chapter so far now. Team Origin's debut, so that was fun. I quite like the commander who debuted as well. All in all, this chapter is a good mix of comedy, action and emotion. But that's just in my opion. I'll let you guys be the judges.

* * *

"I-Itachi!" Sasuke stared in astonishment at his brother. "What are you doing here!"

"Apparently saving your skin." Itachi smirked, seeing the frown on his little brother's face. "I was coming down Mt. Coronet and Charizard wanted to see you. So I thought I'd get away from my assignment for a while and come to see you myself. I bumped into Naruto and..."

"Sakura." Sakura quickly told Sasuke's older brother.

"Sakura, right. I bumped into Naruto and Sakura when I reached the pokemon centre, I figured that was the place you were most likely to be." Itachi finished.

"So how did you know I was in Eterna Forest?" Sasuke further asked, trying to shift his way out of underneath Charizard's weight.

Itachi only pointed to the Charizard the was slowly killing him with hugs. "You'd be amazed at how a pokemon can connect spiritually to someone they care about."

"Hey, hey, Itachi!" An excited Naruto caught his attention. "Have you got any new pokemon!"

Itachi chuckled lightly. "One or two. But I don't think this is the correct situation for this conversation." Itachi spoke looking around at the bleak forest. Pulling out a pokeball from out of his coat.

Sasuke sighed in relief when the weight crushing him disappeared. "Let's go back to the pokemon centre. You need your pokemon healed I presume." Itachi chuckled again, already beginning to walk back to Eterna City. Naruto and Sakura hot on his tail.

Sasuke stood up and dusted himself off. His eyes hit the back of his Brother. His anger rising. He slowly began his own return to Eterna City. Itachi was right. He did need his pokemon checked and healed. _All of them_.

* * *

Sasuke was bitter. He couldn't believe he was saved by Itachi, him of all people. What made it worse was that Itachi didn't leave afterwards. He stayed to have a conversation. It felt like every minute he spent with Itachi, his pride took a blow to the face.

"I was travelling down from Snowpoint City, heading for Celestic Town, but Charizard wanted to see Sasuke in Eterna City, so I took a little detour from my assignment and came here." Sasuke heard Itachi answer a question that he did not hear.

"So what was this assignment?" Sakura asked curiously, she knew that she shouldn't be so curious. But Sasuke's brother was mysterious enough already.

"Well-" Itachi began, before he was cut off by Sasuke.

"Answer my question first." Sasuke spoke harshly. "Show me your Akatsuki Symbol?" It was spoken as more of a demand than a question.

Itachi blinked, before placing his right hand on the table. Showing a ring that sat comfortably on his ring finger. "Our symbols match the colours and insignia present on the rings. So mine is red. And has the symbol for 'Vermillion' present on it." He finished, taking his hand back off of the table.

"There's something." Sakura began. "What's the meaning behind the insignias on the symbols. I mean, we've seen ones with 'North', 'South' and 'Sign of the boar' as well. They don't relate to each other in any way, what's there point?" Sakura asked.

"I'm not really sure of there purpose." Itachi confessed, relaxing back into his chair. "But I know why we have them, and why Akatsuki was formed."

Sakura and Naruto leaned forwards in anticipation to hear the story better.

"One day our leader stumbled across an old relic box while he was travelling across the entire region. Inside were ten rings identical to this." He lifted his hand up again, so they could glimpse the ring again. "Mesmerised, he began to reconstruct ten symbols that were similar to each of one of these, the colour and the insignia, in hopes of making something akin to Badges. The leader is a visionary, his dream is to build something that people can reach for, an extra goal on their pokemon journey, filling everybody's lives with excitement and happiness." Itachi smiled at the childrens' smiles.

"But a dream like that is expensive. He was eventually approached by a man who was willing to cover the expenses for Akatsuki's establishment. Akatsuki came to be, and our leader finally realised his dream. The leader chose his two best friends to become the first members of Akatsuki, and together they travelled across the entire continent, finding the best trainers out there, who didn't already have previous engagements, otherwise I'm sure Minato-san would have been offered a place." Itachi suspected, this grabbed Naruto's attention somewhat more. Only Sasuke's eyes darted to the left to discover a small yet growing crowd of young trainers and people gathering around them. "They found their seven members, and Akatsuki's purpose officially began. Why, were you looking to join, because were alittle full at the moment." Itachi chuckled, the sound of soft clapping stopped said chuckle. The surrounding people applauding Itachi's storytelling abilities. They began dispersing, commenting on 'what a wonderful story' it was.

The four just stared at the dispersed crowd. "So..." Naruto broke their silence. "Before all that you were talking about an assignment?" He asked curiously. Itachi wasn't going to dodge the question.

"Ah yes..." Itachi quickly leaned in, whispering. "What I told you just then was truth, but not the full truth."

Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke, quickly leaned in as well. Eager to hear what Itachi had to say.

"Our leader loves the happiness he has created for the world, and he desperately wants to protect it at all costs. Something threatens what he spent his life creating." Itachi continued whispering, but his voice was deadly serious.

"What could possibly affect it?" Sakura whispered in response, something told her that Itachi didn't want this conversation known to many.

"War." Itachi's one word answer sent a chill down their spine. "You can't see it, you won't even know it is happening. But there is a war going on. And Akatsuki are doing everything in our power to keep it behind closed doors. To keep it contained."

"Who could possibly be at war without us knowing, it would be all over the news?" Naruto commented, this wasn't making sense to him.

"People who they themselves wouldn't want to be in the public spotlight." Itachi continued. "In this continent of ours there are four regions. Kanto, Johto, Hoenn and Sinnoh. I do hope you all already knew that?" Itachi looked at each of them, receiving an 'I-can't-believe-you'd-think-I'm-that-stupid' nod in return from each of them. "Well across these regions, there are groups. Groups of men and women who do despicable things to other humans and pokemon. Does that ring a bell for anyone?"

"I remember something like that being on the news." Sakura answered. "There was a huge news report of a Team Aqua and a Team Magma, whose plans were thwarted by Steven Stone and Wallace of Sootopolis City in Hoenn, I heard both teams escaped before they were caught. They were both at war with each other, weren't they?"

Itachi nodded slowly. "That's only one part. There are five major contenders in this war. The two Sakura mentioned; Team Magma and Team Aqua from Hoenn. Team Rocket from Kanto, Team Galactic from Sinnoh, and a mystery team. One we've only just discovered existed; Team Origin. We have no idea of their base situation or their objectives. What you saw Sakura was the two weaker teams out of those five, who share the same territory. Fighting for supremacy. These five are fighting constantly, because they interfere with each other's objectives"

"And which one is winning?" Sasuke asked, all too curious about this war.

Itachi only sighed softly. "What is winning in a war like this." He asked himself, but still loud enough for the three to hear. "If anything, I'd have to say Team Rocket. It has the largest amount of man power and the largest territory. Spanning across the whole of Johto and Kanto. But this Team Origin. We know nothing about them. We have no way of determining their strength." Itachi stopped, realising he hadn't answered Sasuke's question fully, he quickly went into detail. "Unlike Magma, Aqua and Galactic, who are after specific pokemon. Team Rocket is simply after world domination. They are after all pokemon, and they've kept their options open. And what's worse is that we've heard a terrible rumour." Itachi looked at all three of them wide eyed. Scaring them slightly.

"We've heard that their leader already has the strongest pokemon ever to live in his grip."

"Wait" Sasuke butted in. "Didn't Team Rocket's leader disappear?" At least, that was what he had heard.

"He's back." Itachi quickly answered. "Team Rocket had functioned well for a few years. Suddenly they began working effectively again, and better than ever. We know that he is definitely back."

"So..." Naruto couldn't believe what he was hearing. It was so cool that Itachi was fighting in an underground war, but it sounded larger than just those five teams. "Is it just those five teams fighting, or is there more?"

"Those are the five top contenders, but yes. They have been and are smaller teams also participating, they are mainly just groups of thugs looking for glory. No strategy, no organisation, they aren't problematic and don't pose a major threat. They are either taken down by us. Or taken over by one of the five major players. The only major threat came from the continent north of our own. Two teams known as Team Shadow and Team Snagem from the Orre region within that continent invaded. Those two teams held dangerous technology. We made sure that Akatsuki hit them first, destroying all their research, their data and their technology. We couldn't allow it to fall into one of those teams hands." Itachi explained, a sigh of relief came from Sakura. He understood, it was already bad enough.

"So what were you intending to find out in Celestic Town?" Sakura asked the next question.

"Hopefully I was going to find out some information on Team Galactic and Team Origin. But I do already know one thing." Itachi confessed shocking the kids slightly. "Whoever their leaders are. They are dangerous. And they know how to hide their actions well."

* * *

Sasuke stared at the moon from atop the pokemon centre's hotel area. The moon seemed so big tonight. Probably because Sasuke realised how small his role in the world was. All what the people back home said about Itachi was true. He really was a hero. Fighting in a war that didn't concern him in the first place. And all Sasuke did was travel around, living in a world of ignorance to what was truly happening.

"Shouldn't you be in bed." Sasuke turned around. Itachi stood leaning against the door to the roof. His statement was less of a question and more of a demand. Sasuke noted that his cloak was off. After all these years, Itachi still wore the same clothes he did at Twinleaf Town. A simple black shirt and black quarter-length pants.

"You can't boss me around now, Itachi." Sasuke turned to look back at the moon. "And shouldn't you be in bed as well?"

Itachi chuckled at his brother's quick answer. He slowly walked over and sat next to Sasuke, the two brothers sat in silence under the moonlight, fixated on the moon.

"The whole of Twinleaf was upset when you left, Itachi." Sasuke broke the silence, he didn't take his eyes of the starry sky. "And afterwards. All I ever received from everyone was to become a fantastic trainer like you. And stay with them forever."

Itachi smiled. Sasuke caught the smile from the corner of his eyes, darting his eyes to his brother he continued. "When I couldn't leave Professor Sarutobi's Academy after the first year like you did. They all quickly turned their backs on me. Even Mother and Father were starting to get disappointed with me. When the second year passed, the town lost all hope in me. They didn't even care when I passed at the end of the third year."

Itachi sighed heavily, shaking his head as he did so. "You're looking at it all wrong Sasuke." He told his brother. "You think happiness walks hand in hand with accomplishments and awards. Show me the pokemon you've caught."

Sasuke looked at his brother. Before reaching for his six pokeballs. Throwing them half-heartedly. Houndour, Carvanha, Cacnea, Eevee, Murkrow and Misdreavus appeared. They seemed to understand the situation. None made a sound. They only stared sadly at the back of their saddened trainer.

Itachi stood up and moved to Sasuke's pokemon, kneeling down. He gently stroked Sasuke's Houndour. "I see you did pick up the Houndour I left for you." Itachi smiled as he continued petting Houndour.

Sasuke's head, certainly turned around. "It was you who left it? I thought dad did."

"No. It was me, and thanks to Charizard, I was able to tell Kisame where to find you in Jublife." Itachi smiled. Now petting each of Sasuke's pokemon. "If your happiness depends on accomplishments and awards Sasuke. Then this is a accomplishment. You've raised fantastic pokemon." Sasuke's pokemon seemed to yell softly in agreement. As if telling Sasuke that he is a splendid trainer.

Sasuke smiled softly at his pokemon. He couldn't believe they were happy with him, after all he did was train them into the ground day in and day out.

"But." Itachi spoke by breathing in. "All of you're pokemon will have dark type characteristics. That's not good for a rookie trainer. You need to have a diverse team early on." Itachi criticised Sasuke's choices.

"But I've met these two people, Might Guy and Rock Lee. They both only use fighting type pokemon and Lee's just a rookie as well." Sasuke defended his choice of pokemon.

"Might Guy? The green beast?" Itachi seemed a little surprised. "Guy-san is an incredible trainer. I've seen him battle. He has the experience and prowess to have a specific type for a team, he teaches his pokemon to overcome their weaknesses. He is one of the best trainers I have ever met." Itachi confessed, he remembered battling Guy once. Guy almost had him beat for the majority of the fight. "And I assume this Rock Lee is connected to Guy-san in some way. As you mentioned them together."

"Yeah. Lee gets trained by Guy." Sasuke told Itachi honesty. It seemed to make Itachi laugh a bit.

"An apprentice for Guy-san." Itachi sighed in amusement, shaking his head. "That will be why Lee will only use Fighting types. He has an extraordinary teacher to show him how to overcome Fighting type weaknesses and prevail."

Sasuke frowned, he wasn't winning one bit. "Don't tell me what to do Itachi. I'll chose the pokemon I want." Sasuke turned back to face the moon.

Itachi looked on sadly at his younger brother, his pokemon crowding around him. "I'm going back inside Sasuke. I think you should do the same soon." Itachi told him, making his way back inside.

Sasuke didn't move, he continued to stare at the sky alone. No. Not alone, his pokemon sat around him, gazing just as intently as their trainer.

* * *

"Morning." Itachi walked down the stairs into the cafe, rubbing his eye tiredly, he hadn't slept until 12 for a long time. He approached Naruto and Sakura. Both were currently eating breakfast, or lunch. "Where's Sasuke?" He asked as he couldn't see his brother.

Naruto shrugged his shoulders, shoving more toast in his mouth. "Dunno." He spat out crumbs of bread with every syllable. "His bed was pretty tidy. Looked like it hadn't been slept in."

Itachi was about to wonder if Sasuke had fallen asleep on the roof. Where the sounds of multiple screams of panic filled the air.

Immediately running outside, he found many of the townspeople running around in a panic. Sakura and Naruto soon joined him outside. Naruto still eating toast. "What's going on!" Itachi shouted for every passing person to hear.

"T-T-Team Origin!" A random man return, panicky as ever. "T-They've attacked the Eterna City Telecommunications tower up the road! They took a lot of hostages, including the Underground Man!"

"How many hostages!" Itachi quickly grabbed a pokeball, ready to go to the tower.

"None now!" The man returned, he desperately wanted to continue running away, but he was talking to an Akatsuki member, he didn't want to make one of those angry. "Some kid snuck in and freed all of the hostages! I was one of them!" The man suddenly stopped panicking, slanting his head, he looked at Itachi intently. "Come to think of it, he looked a lot like you." The man raised his eyebrow in interest.

"Sasuke." Itachi's eyes went wide. "What floor is he on!" He shouted at the man.

"T-Top floor!" The man's panic had returned post haste. "I'd hurry if you want to help him, he's battling one of Team Origin's commanders. Commander Gas, he called himself!"

"Thank you." Itachi nodded at the man.

"Can I go now?" The man asked quickly.

"Yeah, sure." Itachi shook his head. The man bowed in gratitude. Then quickly threw his arms in the air, flailing them wildly as he ran away.

"We're coming too!" Sakura was determined. Naruto nodded furiously next to her, his mouth moving the opposite direction to his head. Still chewing away on the toast.

"Right! Let's go!" Itachi ordered, they began to make their way through the screaming crowd. Towards the Telecommunications Tower.

* * *

Naruto and Sakura entered first. They knew the plan, they didn't need to sneak or slide. The front door would door. Walking straight through. The were met with four grunts. Three male and one female. Their attire was weird. Grey striped pants. Tucking in to tight white boots, complete with an gold arrow on the front, the same with their white gloves. On their white shirts was a black swirl, because they all had it it was obvious that that was their insignia. Sat on their heads was a long hat, white at the top and stripy grey underneath. They all glared at Naruto and Sakura angrily.

"What the hell are you two doing?" One grunt spoke with confusion and aggression, the perfect combination for a predator.

"Don't talk to them like that." The female responded. "They're pretty cute. Especially the blondie." She winked at Naruto. He panicked with a flustered look.

"We're here to save the Underground Man!" Sakura responded, Naruto didn't look like he was going to be any help.

"Oh are you now?" A different male grunt mocked her. "Well you'll have to go through us!" He pulled out a pokeball, as did the other three.

"Alright Sakura. We'll have to battle two-on-one against them." Naruto had suddenly regained his cool in the presence of a battle. Sakura nodded in return, taking out two pokeballs.

"Numel!" The first grunt shouted. A dopey, yellow camel appeared.

"Hippopotas!" The particularly large grunt called out. A brown hippo appeared, grains of sand leaking from it's body.

"Wooper!" The female grunt called out. A small blue pokemon with purple antennae on the side of it's head appeared.

"Chatot!" The final grunt shouted. An angry looking bird stared down Sakura and Naruto.

_Numel, The Numb Pokemon, Numel stores magma of almost 2,200 degrees F within its body. If it gets wet, the magma cools and hardens. In that event, the pokemon's body grows heavy and its movements become sluggish. _

_Hippopotas, The Hippo Pokemon, It lives in arid places. Instead of perspiration, it expels grainy sand from its body. _

_Wooper, The Water Fish Pokemon, This pokemon lives in cold water. It will leave the water to search for food when it gets cold outside. When it walks around on the ground, it coats its body with a slimy, poisonous film._

_Chatot, The Music Note Pokemon, Its tongue is just like a human's. As a result, it can cleverly mimic human speech. It mimics the cries of other pokemon to trick them into thinking it's one of them. This way they won't attack it. _

"Alright Sakura. I don't think they'll change the way they set up. Even if we say pretty please." Naruto commented. "So here's the plan. You take Numel and Hippopotas, with Surskit's speed advantage and Cherubi they shouldn't be a problem. I'll take the Wooper and Chatot." Naruto sounded confident.

Sakura looked at Naruto, slightly surprised. "Wow Naruto. I'm impressed, I thought you were just a mindless idiot."

Naruto smiled in return at her. "A situation like this calls for serious actions." He quickly pulled out to pokeballs. "Go! Luxio! Turtwig!"

Sakura nodded. "Go Cherubi! Surskit!"

They four pokemon came out, ready for the battle.

The panicked. Several more grunts came running down the stairs. Confirming that they received the warning of intruders. All the grunts surrounded around the first four. They left their posts. Just as Itachi had planned.

"Itachi! We've got their attention!" Naruto shouted back through the door.

This time the grunts went wide eyed in fear. That recognisable black cloak with red clouds. An Akatsuki member. What was worse was that it was Itachi Uchiha. One of the higher ranking members. And he was undefeated.

Itachi calmly walked through the buildings ground floor. His eyes focused intently on the staircase.

"I won't let you pass!" A grunt shouted in defiance. "Go Ponyta!" His small horse pokemon appeaered. It's flames on it's neck and tail burning brightly.

"Floatzel." Itachi tossed a pokeball up. "Get rid of it."

Itachi's weasel pokemon glared hard at the much smaller pokemon. Engulfing itself with spinning water, it struck the Ponyta with an incredibly powerful Aqua Jet attack. The Ponyta fainted upon impact.

Itachi returned Floatzel to it's ball. No other grunts dared move after that. Itachi slipped through the crowd and began his ascent up the stairs.

As soon as Itachi's shadow disappeared from sight the grunts sighed in relief. Muttering to each other. Then turning back to Sakura and Naruto. Both gulped.

"Looks like he left his little lackey's behind." They all chuckled darkly, reaching for a pokeball each.

Naruto and Sakura looked at each other in disbelief. They had no way to escape, they needed to stall these guys while Itachi rescued Sasuke. "You've got to be kidding me." Naruto complained aloud, turning back to the grunts. Ready for the oncoming battle.

* * *

"Murkrow dodge that!" Sasuke shouted, his pokemon moving out of the way of the Flame Wheel. This guy. Commander Gas of Team Origin he called himself. He couldn't have been older than Itachi. But his methods of battling were brutal, yet effective. He wasted no time in taking down all of Sasuke's pokemon with just his Monferno.

"Give up already kid!" Gas laughed cockily. "This is your limit! Monferno hit Murkrow with another Rock Tomb!" He ordered. Monferno's hands dug into the ground, taking chunks of earth, it vanished and appeared above Murkrow, smashing the two stones against Murkrow. Murkrow let out a horrible cry of pain. Before falling to the ground defeated.

"HAHAHAHA!" Gas laughed loudly. "God you suck so bad kid!"

Sasuke growled as he returned Murkrow. He was on his last pokemon, and this Gas' Monferno was his first one. "Houndour!" Sasuke sent out his final pokemon. Houndour growled in unison with it's trainer. Staring hard at the Monferno.

"Seriously!" Gas mocked Sasuke in disbelief. "Haven't you learned anything! Dark types won't defeat my Monferno! I thought beating the crap out of your first five pokemon would have proved that! They're weak against Fighting types!"

"Houndour use Ember!" Sasuke shouted.

"Monferno Mach Punch!" Gas laughed loud. With a flash Monferno's fist connected with Houndour. Slamming it into the closest wall. "Follow up with another Mach Punch!"

Again Houndour was hit. The second Mach Punch doing more damage than the first.

"Houndour dodge them!" Sasuke cried aloud. Houndour tried to dodge, but this Moferno's Mach Punches were always quicker than Houndour. Everywhere it moved it was there to strike again.

"Again Monferno, Mach Punch!" Gas laughed in manic glee when Houndour was repeatedly punch by Monferno.

"And again!"

"And again!"

"And again!"

"ENOUGH ALREADY!" Sasuke cried literally, tears falling down his face. Houndour's cries of pain boreing through his head. Houndour had falling unconscious a while back. But this Guy wouldn't give up. His Monferno smacking his Houndour's unconscious body around before he had a chance to return it. "Give it up already!"

"Don't tell me what to do brat!" Gas stopped laughing finally. His glee replaced with rage. "Now shut up and learn your lesson!"

Sasuke ran towards Houndour, he was gonna pick it up and get it out of here.

"Monferno, use Mach Punch on the kid!" Gas began laughing maniacally when Monferno's quick fist connected with Sasuke's stomach, throwing him against the wall at the opposite side of the room.

"That's what you get kid!" Gas laughed behind his grinning Monferno. "Didn't anyone ever tell you a rookie shouldn't specify his roster with one type!"

The door to the room swung open, connecting with the wall hold it's hinges. The sound of the impact was almost deafening.

* * *

Itachi looked in the room. It had been completely destroyed, chunks of the floor were missing, debris and smoke lingered in the air. He saw Houndour in the middle of the room. It was badly beaten and unconscious. A Monferno stood a few metres a way. And next to that sat a floored Sasuke, clasping his stomach in pain.

"You're serious!" He saw a man around the same age as him looking at him in angry disbelief. His purple spiked hair had two locks wrapping around his ears and pointing towards his mouth, a third laid in the middle of his forehead. The rest stood on edge. His clothing was similar to the grunts he passed. A long white sleeveless cloak with two long yellow arrows going down the front. The same grey striped pants. And grey spiral in the middle of his white shirt underneath his cloak. Itachi knew by the change in attire. This guy was definitely an elite member of Team Origin. "An Akatsuki member showed up!" He stared at Itachi a bit longer. He seemed to be cursing his luck in his mind.

"Sasuke." Itachi ignored him, turning to his hurt brother. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine." Sasuke wasn't fine. Itachi could see it. He struggled to stand back up. "Just get Houndour. He's injured badly. Please brother." Sasuke begged through his pain.

"You're serious!" Gas shouted loudly again. "You're seriously his brother!" He shouted his questions. He breathed heavily shaking his head in frustration. He quickly touched the communicator on his neck. "Attention grunts! We're bailing! I repeat, we're getting out of here!" He gave his orders. "No way I'm fighting an Akatsuki member! Boss'll kill me if I got caught!" He spoke again. The lights flashed out, everything went black. The lights suddenly flickered back on, and he was gone. Only Sasuke remained in the room.

Itachi walked over to Houndour and gently scooped it up. Carrying it over to Sasuke, who returned it back to it's ball.

"What you did Sasuke." Itachi smiled softly, helping his brother to his feet. "It was very brave."

"But I didn't have the strength to back that bravery up. You saw Houndour. That guy, he was brutal. But he fled as soon as he possibly could when he saw you." Sasuke panted out. The Monferno's punch had hurt badly.

Itachi just looked at his brother. "Let's go. Naruto and Sakura are downstairs."

* * *

The four left the tower. Sasuke returning to walk by himself. They were immediately greeted by the townspeople of Eterna. Sasuke smiled. Recognition. Something he had been striving for for the longest of times. He saved many people. He deserved this.

"I now you, your Itachi Uchiha of Akatsuki!"

Sasuke's eyes widened. He saw that no one was looking at him, their gazes were all directed to Itachi.

"Thank you Itachi-san. You've saved our town." This crowd was filled with hostages that he saved. Still everything was directed towards Itachi. Sasuke's blood boiled. He needed to get away. Barging straight through the crowd Sasuke ran towards the pokemon centre.

"Wait my boy." Sasuke saw the Underground Man. Smiling at him in front of the pokemon centre. A peculiar box in his hands. "I wanted to say thank you for saving me and the people trapped up there today."

Sasuke looked shocked. He stared at the old man for a while.

"I hope you will accept this as my thanks." The old man continued, placing the box in Sasuke hands.

Sasuke looked at the box. Opening it, he was in for a big surprise.

Inside sat several sparkling stones. Not just any old stones. A Fire Stone, Water Stone, Thunder Stone, Leaf Stone, Sun Stone, Moon Stone, Dusk Stone, Dawn Stone and Shiny Stone. A complete evolutionary set.

"I can't accept this." Sasuke knew the total sum of worth these stones had. "I can't accept them, their too expensive to take from you."

The underground man laughed heartily. "Don't worry my boy. I find them all during my expeditions. I have a hundred more of each, it's really quite all right."

Sasuke stared at the man wide eyed. Before nodding. "Sasuke!" Naruto and Sakura called from behind him. "Why'd you run off?" Naruto asked once he'd reached him.

Sasuke didn't know what to say. Luckily the Underground man covered for him. "When he freed the hostages, I asked him to come to the pokemon centre as soon as he got out the tower." The old man smiled at him. Sasuke smirked in return. _'Thanks old man.'_

"So what's in the box?" Naruto asked, already peeking into the box. Upon seeing the stones. Naruto leapt up.

"This is a full evolutionary set." Sakura whispered in amazement at the content of the box.

"Uh..uh...uh..." Sasuke saw that Naruto was sweating, he seemed desperate to ask something, but couldn't seem to find the words.

Sasuke sighed, pointing the open box towards Naruto. "Do you want some Naruto?"

Naruto's face lit up with glee. Reaching in he pulled out the Dawn Stone and the Water Stone. "Uh.. thanks." Naruto coolly thanked Sasuke. He was glad Sasuke asked first. He was too proud to ask himself. Sasuke rattled the box in front of Sakura now. Thanking him Sakura took the Shiny Stone and the Fire Stone.

The Underground Man smiled at the scene. He was glad these three had each other. He began laughing. "I am pleased you shared them, but if you wanted a set for yourself, you should have just asked."

Naruto's mouth hit the floor. "Can I have my own set-"

"Of course! I couldn't possibly give you a set now. The ones you received from your friend are far more valuable." The Underground Man laughed, walking away from the group.

Naruto stood mouth agape for a few seconds. "No there not!" He quickly shouted. "Come on I want a set too!" He shouted after the old man.

* * *

_'I can't believe that cheap old man!'_ Naruto grumbled in his own mind. The man had disappeared after he walked away from the group.

"Well, I'll take my leave now." Itachi said, summoning out his Charizard. "Sasuke, are you all right?"

Sasuke nodded. "I'll start again. I placed Cacnea, Carvanha and Eevee in storage so I could focus on diversifying my team. Plus I need these three first for the Eterna Gym." Sasuke gave a confident smirk.

Itachi smiled gently at all three, climbing onto his Charizard's back. "Take good care of your pokemon. All three of you."

"Where will you go, Itachi?" Naruto asked the older trainer.

"I'll have to report this immediately, so I'm going to Akatsuki's base." Itachi told them. The three nodded in agreement at his statement.

"I have one more thing to say to you three." Itachi adopted a more serious tone. "What you've just seen today. That was this war. You've seen the brutality of it. You must promise me. That no matter what. You will not go looking for this war."

The three looked puzzled. Even Sasuke didn't want to go anywhere near this after what happened to his Houndour. "Why would we want to go looking for it?" Naruto was the one to ask the question.

"Promise me." Itachi repeated. All three promised him. Before Itachi smiled again. His Charizard giving the a thumbs up as it took off, flying away from the group.

Itachi's word continued to ring through their heads.

_'You must promise me. No matter what. You will not go looking for this war.'_

* * *

"You failed, Gas." His 'boss' spoke, the top half of his body covered by shadows. Light barely breaking into the white, bland room Gas and his 'boss' stood in. "This is the first time you've done so."

"Yeah but I wasn't expecting some Akatsuki member to appear." Gas used his indoor voice. Which was still pretty loud by normal standards.

"Very well. I'm glad you took the initiative and escape before you or your team could be caught." His 'boss' complimented. "And you are lucky. Solid and Liquid both succeeded in their assignments. Now, for your next assignment."

"Yeah, Plasma." Gas responded without respect.

"Gas. I am your superior. You will address me as such." Plasma scolded him, not amused by Gas' lack of respect.

"Yeah, but you're not the highest in the hierarchy of Origin. You're just above me." Gas replied with a smirk on his face.

"Energy, the Prime Commander, the man who is leading Team Origin, appointed me the leader of the four Lesser Commanders. You will give me respect!" Plasma tone rose in annoyance.

"Yeah, yeah. What's my mission?" Gas rebuked. Plasma threw him the portfolio for his mission. Opening it he scanned through it, his eyes widening in shock.

"You're serious!" Gas shouted. The amount of times he had said that today, he began to think it was his catchphrase.

"We are." Plasma confirmed.

Gas scoffed a few times, Plasma, this assignment. It was all unbelievable. "Well tell me _Boss_! How the hell am I supposed to kidnap the Champion of the world!"

* * *

**A/N:** OOOOOOOH! Spooky ghost hands! Well, how was it. Read and Review as always.

Okay. Team Origin. I kinda went for a more...You-know-their-bad image. Sorry if it wasn't everybody's cup of tea, but I liked how that went down. And I'm not one for a constantly sappy, happy go lucky world. Because there's no such thing.

Akatsuki's secondary reason for existence was revealed. That came to me as I was writing this chapter, I had no plans for that what so ever. It just seemed to help get Itachi's message across. God Itachi was cool, and not just in my story in canon as well. Definately one of my favourite characters.

Sasuke finally got some sense kicked in to him. Very sad to write that, but Sasuke isn't the tyoe to listen to people's words. After having multiple blows to his ego by Lee, the Kakashi, then by Itachi saving him, then by Gas almost consecutively, he had to learn something. Naruto played a small role, he shiws both a serious side and a playful side, mainly for comic relief. I kinda felt like this chapter needed it.

I'd like to thank Archsage150 for his help with the villain teams war. It was him who told me how Team Rocket would definately be one of the stronger contenders. If I may quote him; "Everyone seems to determine their strength off of Jessie and James who battle Ash everyday, and never win." He's right. And beside, have you seen Jessie, James and Meowth in Best Wishes! Their actually bad ass XD! So a big thank you to Archsage150.

An image of Team Origin's grunts and Commander Gas is on my profile. Just a heads up, sorry about the quality. As well as a new Bio page, filled with more information. I'll do a separate Akatsuki and Team Origin one when more characters are revealed.

Next Chapter. Maybe an Omake if I can be bothered. I have a plan for one. But it would have a lot of battling. And I don't want to do that. Sasuke and Naruto will be challenging Eterna gym soon. Get the stones was another little adventure I had planned, but I went well with the story, so I'm quite pleased.

Well that's it.

Til Next Time,

Rinne-Kami, Out!


	11. Trainer Bio

Just so you know, If you're looking for the new chapter, everything's moved back one because I deleted the first bio page. So the new chapter is now chapter 10!

**

* * *

Name:** Naruto Namikaze

**Age:** 12

**Birthday:** October 10th

**Occupation:** Pokemon Trainer

**Hometown:** Twinleaf Town, Sinnoh

**Achievements:** 1/8 Sinnoh Badges

**Background:** The son of the current champion of the world, many youngsters were friends with him only to get to meet the champion, the older generations looked at Naruto to become a great trainer like his father. Naruto was subjugated to massive amounts of pressure, and no one to call a true friend. One day he met a boy called Shikamaru, who simply just didn't care that his father was the champion, building one of the first friendships for Naruto.

**Pokemon On Hand:**

Luxio _Intimidate_ – Spark, Thunderbolt, Bite, Leer, Charge

Staravia _Intimidate_ – Quick Attack, Wing Attack, Tackle, Growl

Eevee _Run Away_– Dig, Tackle, Tail Whip, Quick Attack

Turtwig _Overgrow_– Tackle, Withdraw, Absorb, Razor Leaf

**In Storage:**

**

* * *

Name:** Sakura Haruno

**Age:** 12

**Birthday:** March 28th

**Occupation:** Pokemon Co-ordinator

**Hometown:** Sandgem Town, Sinnoh

**Achievements:** 0/5 Ribbons

**Background:** Insulted in her younger years for her appearance, Sakura began repressing her anger, which now expels in violent bursts. Upon meeting a girl called Ino, who told her appearances don't matter, Sakura began taking note of the beauty all around her within everyone, striving to become a pokemon co-ordinator, so she can show that beauty to the world.

**Pokemon On Hand:**

Cherubi _Chlorophyll_ – Tackle, Growth, Leech Seed, Helping Hand, Magical Leaf

Sentret _Keen Eye_ – Foresight, Scratch, Defense Curl, Quick Attack

Eevee _Run Away_ – Dig, Tackle, Tail Whip, Quick Attack

Surskit _Swift Swim_ – Bubble, Quick Attack, Sweet Scent

**In Storage:**

**

* * *

Name:** Sasuke Uchiha

**Age:** 13

**Birthday:** July 23rd

**Occupation:** Pokemon Trainer

**Hometown:** Twinleaf Town, Sinnoh

**Achievements:** 1/8 Sinnoh Badges

**Background:** Younger brother to one of the best trainers of all time. Sasuke strived to be one of the best as well. The town of Twinleaf helped push this dream, however when he wasn't succeeding as much as Itachi, people and Sasuke began to lose motivation and hope in him. Sasuke began training and learning non stop so he could catch up to his already miles ahead brother.

**Pokemon On Hand:**

Houndour _Flash Fire_ – Leer, Howl, Ember, Smog, Bite

Murkrow_ Super Luck_ – Peck, Astonish, Pursuit, Wing Attack, Night Shade, Assurance

Misdreavus _Levitate_ – Psywave, Spite, Confuse Ray, Mean Look, Psybeam

**In Storage:**

Carvanha _Rough Skin_ – Ice Fang, Leer, Bite, Water Gun

Eevee _Adaptability_ – Dig, Tackle, Tail Whip, Quick Attack

Cacnea _Sand Veil_ – Poison Sting, Absorb, Leer, Growth

**

* * *

Name:** Kakashi Hatake

**Age:** 27

**Birthday:** September 15th

**Occupation:** Hokage

**Hometown:** Solaceon Town, Sinnoh

**Achievements:** 8/8 Sinnoh Badges. 5/5 Kages beaten. 8/8 Kanto Badges. 8/8 Johto Badges. 8/8 Hoenn Badges. 1/10 Akatsuki Symbols

**Background:** Son of the former Champion of the world, Sakumo Hatake. Kakashi grew up in the small town of Solaceon, spending much of his childhood caring for pokemon at the Day Care Centre awaiting for the times when his father came to visit. Kakashi began his pokemon journey earlier than usual, he came across a young Minato Namikaze and was trained by him in the ways of pokemon a true pokemon master. Travelling across the entire continent, Kakashi was completely unaware that Might Guy was only a few steps behind him. Literally.

**Pokemon On Hand:**

Sudowoodo (Male) _Rock Head_ – Earth Power, Wood Hammer, Hammer Arm, Rock Slide, Mimic

Ditto _Limber_ - Transform

Manectric (Male) _Lightening Rod_ – Thunder Wave, Thunder Fang, Bite, Thunderbolt, Howl

Altaria _Natural Cure_ – Dragonbreath, Fly, Sky Attack, Flamethrower, Dragon Pulse

Abomasnow _Snow Warning_ – Razor Leaf, Grasswhistle, Ice Punch, Wood Hammer, Ice Shard

Claydol _Levitate_ – Psybeam, Rock Tomb, Selfdestruct, Hyper Beam, Earth Powe

**In Storage:** Apparently over 200

**

* * *

Name:** Shikamaru Nara

**Age:** 13

**Birthday:** September 22nd

**Occupation:** Pokemon Trainer

**Hometown:** Twinleaf Town, Sinnoh

**Achievements:** 1/8 Sinnoh Badges

**Background:** Very lazy and uninterested in most things. Shikamaru grew up in the small quiet town of Twinleaf, where no one expected big things from him, just how he liked it. Shikamaru decided to become a trainer when he heard they were allowed to leave home for a really long time.

**Pokemon On Hand:**

Slakoth _Truant_ – Yawn, Scratch, Slack Off, Encore

?

?

**In Storage:**

**

* * *

Name:** Ino Yamanaka

**Age:** 13

**Birthday:** September 23rd

**Occupation:** Pokemon Co-ordinator

**Hometown:** Floaroma Town, Sinnoh

**Achievements:** 0/5 Ribbons

**Background:** Ino had a very easy childhood, but surrounded by the idiocy Kiba brought to her town, it was never boring. Wanting to see the world, she began sneaking to Professor Sarutobi's academy against her father's wishes. Managing to keep it secret, she left a note and left home with her team.

**Pokemon On Hand:**

Marill _Thick Fat_ – Charm, Tail Whip, Bubble, Slam, Water Gun

?

?

**In Storage:**

**

* * *

Name:** Choji Akimichi

**Age:** 12

**Birthday:** May 1st

**Occupation:** Pokemon Co-ordinator

**Hometown:** Jublife City

**Achievements:** 1/5 Ribbons, Sinnoh

**Background:** Choji's life was very similar to Sakura's ridiculed at a young age for his weight Choji strived to be able to show the beauty of even the most physically unattractive pokemon.

**Pokemon On Hand**:

Gulpin _Liquid Ooze_ – Pound, Yawn, Poison Gas, Sludge

Beautifly _Swarm_ – Absorb, Gust, Stun Spore, Morning Sun, Mega Drain

Slugma _Magma Armour_ – Yawn, Ember, Recover, Rock Throw

Butterfree _Compound Eyes_ – Confusion, Stun Spore, PoisonPowder, Sleep Powder, Gust

**In Storage:**

**

* * *

Name:** Kiba Inuzuka

**Age:** 12

**Birthday: **July 7th

**Occupation:** Pokemon Trainer

**Hometown:** Floaroma Town, Sinnoh

**Achievements:** 2/8 Sinnoh Badges

**Background:** Growing up in Floaroma with close friend Shino. No one is sure why Kiba has a preference for dog shaped pokemon. However there is a rumour that the cause involved a strange purple cat pokemon.

**Pokemon On Hand:**

Akamaru (Growlithe) _Flash Fire –_ Bite, Ember, Leer, Flame Wheel

Poochyena _Quick Feet_ – Tackle, Howl, Sand-Attack, Bite

**In Storage:**

**

* * *

Name:** Hinata Hyuuga

**Age:** 12

**Birthday:** December 27th

**Occupation:** Pokemon Co-ordinator

**Hometown:** Canalave City, Sinnoh

**Achievements:** 1/5 Ribbons

**Background:** Hinata's father owns the Canalave Library. As a child, she had few friends, drowning herself in the knowledge the library had to offer, Hinata learned how to raise and care for pokemon, at the cost of social development, made even worse in the presence of Naruto Namikaze.

**Pokemon On Hand:**

Ralts _Synchronize_ – Growl, Confusion, Teleport, Double Team

Chingling _Levitate_ – Wrap, Growl, Astonish, Confusion, Uproar

**In Storage:**

**

* * *

Name:** Shino Aburame

**Age:** 12

**Birthday:** January 23rd

**Occupation: **

**Hometown**: Floaroma Town, Sinnoh

**Achievements:** 2/8 Sinnoh Badges

**Background:** A quiet boy. Growing up in the floral town with a close friend and complete opposite Kiba Inuzuka. One day, out of character, Shino accepted a dare to go into Eterna Forest at midnight, he was attacked by a group of Murkrow, after his shiny glasses. He was saved by a Heracross, that bravely defeated all the Murkrow. Shino, amazed by the Bug pokemon's power, promised to return the favour to the bug type and only train with them, making them as strong as that Heracross.

**Pokemon On Hand:**

Combee _Honey Gather_ – Sweet Scent, Gust, Bug Bite

Yanma _Speed Boost_ – Tackle, Quick Attack, Double Team, SonicBoom, Detect

Kricketune _Swarm_ – Fury Cutter, Bide, Sing, False Swipe

Scyther _Swarm_ – Bug Buzz, Vacuum Wave, Quick Attack, Wing Attack

**In Storage:**

**

* * *

Name:** Rock Lee

**Age:** 13

**Birthday:** November 27th

**Occupation:** Pokemon Trainer

**Hometown:** Iron Island, Sinnoh

**Achievements:** 4/8 Sinnoh Badges

**Background:** Living in the small village on Iron Island, Lee dreamt for the day he could begin his pokemon journey. One day a green clad man came on the island for training. Lee watched the man train in fascination with his team of fighting type pokemon. When Lee became a trainer he spent the first year looking for the man, only battling when necessary.

**Pokemon On Hand:**

Tyrogue _Guts_ – Mach Punch, Bullet Punch, Tackle, Fake Out

Tyrogue _Steadfast_ – Mach Punch, Bullet Punch, Tackle, Fake Out

Hitmonchan _Guts_ – Mach Punch, Vacuum Wave, Fire Punch, Thunder Punch, Ice Punch

Combusken _Blaze_ – Fire Punch, Ember, Double Kick, Peck

Poliwhirl _Water Absorb_ – Hypnosis, Water Gun, Body Slam, BubbleBeam, Mud Shot

**In Storage:**

**

* * *

Name: **Might Guy

**Age: **26

**Birthday: **January 1st

**Occupation: **Pokemon Trainer

**Hometown: **Survival Area, Battle Park, Sinnoh

**Achievements: **8/8 Sinnoh Badges, 5/5 Kages Beaten, 8/8 Kanto Badges, 8/8 Johto Badges, 8/8 Hoenn Badges 1/10 Akatsuki Symbols

**Background:** From a young age Guy had a long undefeated streak, spanning 238 matches undefeated. This changed the day he met a young Kakashi Hatake, who after 25 minutes of intense battling against Guy forfeited out of laziness. Infuriated at winning in such a non honourable way, Guy declared Kakashi his eternal rival and followed him all over the continent, battling him multiple times.

**Pokemon On Hand:**

?

**In Storage:**

?


	12. Training and Trading

**A/N:** Yo! Been a while since I've updated anything. An excuse. Been sick, the dog ate it, family emergency, whatever floats your boat. Now as I was writing this chapter I discovered two things:

1. It is much easier to write a Chapter when drama is involved. This chapter was very hard to write it, I had to tell myself to write most of it. Unlike the previous chapter where I wanted to write it, If that makes sense.

2. It is alot easier to write NaruSaku than it is to write NaruHina and SasuSaku. I don't know why, but it is. I'm not saying it's gonna become a NaruSaku fic, just pointing it out.

Anyway, on to the chapter. In my opinion, meh. It wasn't as good as the last two chapters I'll admit, but compared to the first chapters it's alot better, so I'm not moving forwards, but I'm not moving backwards either. I should say that I have been sick and I've been thinking of new ideas for this story, such as when and if the team breaks up who will Naruto be travelling with (cause this fic is Naruto centric that's who we will be following) and which Akatsuki member is making the next appearence. I've got them both figured out, and it's gonna be fun writing them in.

A little bit of information on this fic. It will be following the Platinum pokedex and game, so they can battle Hearthome gym next and meet Duskull in the wild. And there is no exclusive pokemon, so they can meet Misdreavus, Murkrow, Skunky and Glameow in the wild as well. Also, just so everyone knows, if you go back two chapters you'll see the newest chapter for those who haven't read it. Just so you know where we are.

I think there was something else I wanted to say but I can't remember. So I'll leave it at that and let you read the story.

* * *

"_Monferno! Mach Punch!" His maniac laughter resounded through Sasuke's head as he began his vicious assault on Houndour. "Follow up with another Mach Punch!"_

"_God you suck so bad kid!"_

"_Again Monferno, Mach Punch!" Gas laughed in manic glee when Houndour was repeatedly punch by Monferno._

"_And again!"_

"_And again!"_

"_And again!"_

_His mind repeated everything that happened. Houndour's cries of agony replaying a thousand times. Each one louder and more contorted than the last._

"_This is your limit!" He heard Gas speak again, his manic laughter mocking him. "You can't protect you pokemon! You are inferior to me, to everybody!"_

"_Shut up!" Sasuke yelled in his own mind._

"_You will never be Itachi! You will never amount to anything!"_

"_I SAID SHUT UP!"_

"_YOU WILL ALWAYS BE WEAK! MONFERNO, USE MACH PUNCH ON THE KID!"_

* * *

Sasuke's body shot up. His vision was hazy. Sweat cause the sheets to cling to his body. _'A dream.'_ Sasuke sigh louder than his panting. Sasuke gripped his shirt, releasing it's grip on his chest. _'Am I inferior to everyone? Is my strength as a trainer still not enough?'_

Sasuke's mind raced back to that night atop the pokemon centre, how all his pokemon smiled happily with him at the moon, how Houndour snuggled up next to him, still smiling with the rest of his team.

_'Could Houndour ever be happy like that again?'_ Sasuke asked himself. _'How could any of my pokemon be happy with me? When I couldn't protect them.'_

Sasuke's thoughts were interrupted by a lamp flickering on. Lighting the room. Naruto had pushed his upper body up with his arm. His eyes half shut with sleepiness. "Sasuke. You okay?" Naruto croaked out, his throat gone dry.

Good question. Was he okay? Everything he believed about himself proved wrong. At first his loss to Rock Lee, someone who Sasuke deemed weaker than himself, a minor set back. Then being defeated by Kakashi a few days later. He wasn't expecting a win, but he certainly wasn't expecting to lose so quickly. Then Gas. Gas destroyed everything Sasuke believed about himself. If it wasn't for Itachi, Sasuke didn't know what would have happened to Houndour.

"Naruto." He finally spoke. "That Team Origin. You battled their grunts with Sakura, did you notice how brutal they were?"

Naruto's brow rose. "Not really. Those grunts were pretty low level. Their pokemon were taken down quite easily, but each of them had abut 4 or five pokemon each. So they outnumbered us really badly, we were exhausted when they nearly had us beat. Next thing I knew, they were getting orders to leave. We really lucked out." Naruto finished with a slight chuckle. "But..." Naruto continued. "What that guy did to Houndour. I wouldn't wish that on any pokemon. We need to prepare Sasuke, prepare in case we ever get drawn back into that war."

Sasuke nodded in agreement. "Tomorrow, we train." He responded with a short answer.

Naruto grinned and flashed a quick thumbs up. "But right now, we sleep." Naruto yawned out, curling back up under his sheets.

Sasuke smirked to himself, before turning back over in his bed. He would protect all his pokemon from harm. No matter what.

* * *

Naruto stood outside the pokemon centre with Sasuke, the morning light of the sun barely breaking the darkness of the night.

"Are you sure it's such a good idea to not bring Sakura?" Naruto whispered, in case the pink haired girl could still hear him.

"She's sound asleep." Sasuke returned quickly. "She'd be more angry if we woke her up."

Naruto gave Sasuke a if-you're-sure kind of nod. "So, where do you wanna train?" Naruto asked quickly.

"Where else, Eterna forest." Sasuke replied as if he had just been asked a stupid question.

Naruto gave a shrill, quiet whine. "But there are better options." Naruto whined. "Sure we could go to Eterna forest in the west. But there's also Mt. Coronet to the east and route 206 down south."

"Yes I know that." Sasuke replied, a hint of annoyance present in his voice. "But the next gym is a Grass specific gym. Eterna forest is the best place to train fire and flying types."

"But I need to catch more pokemon that can handle Grass types. Staravia can't battle the whole gym by himself." Naruto complained further.

"Point proven." Sasuke stood with a victorious smirk. "Bug types have an advantage over grass types. Where are you gonna catch Bug types, Eterna forest."

"Hn..." Naruto let out in a whiny voice, his face made it look that he was having problems accepting Sasuke's answer internally. "Okay, but there's Gligar at Route 206. And the Larvitar migration swarms are starting, and I really don't want to miss it."

_'Larvitar.'_ Sasuke mind recorded that with interest. He knew that the strongest gym in Sinnoh specified in Electric types, as they had done for years. _'Perhaps I should plan ahead.'_

"Alright Naruto. Route 206 it is."

* * *

Sasuke's eye twitched in annoyance. "Naruto." He voiced was lined with frustration and annoyance. "How do you suggest we get to Route 206, when we don't have bicycles to go down Cycle road?" He voiced raised in anger at the end of his sentence.

"Well we could trek down the side of the mountain?" Naruto grinned sheepishly scratching the back of his head.

"Hey, did I hear you say you needed a bike?" They turned to see a man standing behind them, an intrigued look present on his face. "Hey I know you. You're the kid that freed us hostages." He beamed wildly at Sasuke.

"And I know you!" Naruto replied, a humoured smile on his face. "You're that guy Itachi stopped to ask what was going on."

The man chuckled. "Oh yes, such an honour it was to be spoken to by an Akatsuki member, I only wish that it was in more peaceful circumstances." The man scratched his chin. "Anyway, I am also the bike shop owner. So as thanks for saving me, I'd be happy to lend you both bikes if you need to borrow them. But buying them's a different story."

Naruto face lit up, while Sasuke smirked. "Thank you sir." Sasuke answered coolly.

The man beamed in return. "Well, let's go to my shop and I'll brief you on how to operate my best bikes."

* * *

Sakura knocked lightly on the boys' door. She had insisted that they have separate rooms. They hadn't been around for breakfast, and Sakura had already slept in later than usual. "You guys in here?" She slowly opened the door, peaking her head around it.

It was empty. Something she could have anticipated, Naruto was a light sleeper and Sasuke, well after what happened in the telecommunications tower she figured that he would be up and training right away.

But she didn't expect to be left behind. Entering the room, she looked around, hoping to find some indication as to where they went. On the desk a small piece of paper had been written on. From the distance she was, Sakura could still read her own name on it. Picking it up, she quickly read over the note's contents.

_'Gone training.'_

Her eyebrow twitched. Did they not think she would have liked to have gone training as well? Why did they leave her behind? She scrumpled up the piece of paper and threw it against the window, where it bounced back onto the desk. She glared hard at the ball of paper, but she noticed there was more writing.

Picking the paper back up she flattened it out and turned it over, sure enough a larger note was present.

_'Dear Sakura-chan,_

_Me and Sasuke have gone training. We would have invited you, but we left pretty early and you were sound asleep, and I remember what happened last time I tried to wake you...'_

Sakura blushed at that, maybe she overreacted a little, but Naruto came in her tent shouted at the top of his voice at seven in the morning telling her to get up. Who wouldn't have reacted the way she did.

_'Anyway, I feel bad that you were left behind, and you're probably really angry, so not tomorrow, Sasuke and I promised that we'd challenge the gym tomorrow but the day after, we'll spend the day doing things you wanna do. And now you can continue practising you're contest moves without any interruptions, there's a very nice area east near the entrance of Mt. Coronet, you could practise there!_

_Sorry again,_

_Naruto.'_

Next to his name Naruto had drawn a crude picture of himself giving a thumbs up. Sakura smiled. _'I guess Naruto's right. It seems he really thought things through. I can go train in private now.'_ Sakura thought to her self determined. She place the note back down, closing the door behind her as she left the room Sakura headed out for Mt Coronet.

* * *

Four figures walked down the man-made routes of Eterna Forest. Three walked on foot side by side. The fourth was laid on the arms of the largest member.

"I can't believe you, Shikamaru!" Ino demeaned him, flicking her platinum blonde hair out of her face. "Treating poor Machoke like a slave, having him carry you around everywhere!"

"What are you talking about Ino." Shikamaru replied in a annoyed voice, his finger fiddling in his ear. "It was Machoke's idea. Plus he doesn't like being stuck in his pokeball. He likes all this exercise walking gives." Shikamaru gave a small dry chuckle, patting Machoke on the shoulder.

"Ma-choke, Ma-choke, Ma-choke, Ma-choke." Machoke repeatedly sang to himself in a happy and content tone.

"It's quite weird seeing you two together." Choji admitted to Shikamaru and his pokemon. "Machoke is energetic and likes exercise, while you Shikamaru are lazy, at Oreburgh gym you asked me to get the pokeball out of your own pocket for you." He finished with a giggle, all the while stuffing chips into his mouth.

"Really, Choji. Well how about I have Machoke throw you across _another_ river." Shikamaru replied, equally as annoyed as before.

Choji's eyes widened in horror as he recalled the groups trip to Fuego Ironworks. The river to it was small, but it was still pretty deep. So Shikamaru had Machoke throw Choji and Ino across, while Machoke picked up Shikamaru and jumped over itself. "No thanks." Choji answered quietly, returning his gaze to his snacks.

"Well anyway, I quite like Machoke's energy. It's willing to do all the hard work that I don't wanna. I'm quite glad his evolved form will be just as energetic." Shikamaru drowsily replied, shifting in Machoke's arms, getting in a more comfortable position. "Let me know when we get there." He yawned out sleepily, shutting his eyes. Hoping for a quick nap.

* * *

Sasuke and Naruto kicked the stands of their backs, flicking them out and resting the bikes on them. They had arrived at the bottom of Cycling road. And were both having a rushing, the wind breaking against their faces gave them a sense of freedom, more than they already had.

Sasuke looked around, right up back near the Eterna gate to the Cycling road was a cave. But looking closer under the shadows of the bridge, he saw the shadows suddenly darkening. _'Is that another cave?'_

"Sasuke, come over here!" He heard Naruto call. Naruto stood near the edge of a cliff looking over it in fascination. Sasuke walked over and stood next to Naruto. "We're back at Oreburgh." Naruto spoke quietly now. _'This is where we met Kakashi.'_

There was a rustling directly under them, a small patch of grass nestling in the corner of the City. A brown deer pokemon with large yellow antlers with what appeared to be black balls in the middle of each one was lazily munching on the grass.

_Stantler, The Big Horn Pokemon, Stantler's magnificent antlers were traded at high prices as works of art. As a result, this pokemon was hunted close to extinction by those who were after the priceless antlers. _

"I see." Sasuke whispered. "Misdreavus, Mean Look." He threw Misdreavus' ball up high. Misdreavus appeared quickly and glared hard at the Stantler evilly, scaring it away from the option of running. "Follow up with Confuse Ray."

Misdreavus sent a beam of red towards Stantler. The Stantler lost all of it's sense of balance, falling to the floor in a heap.

Sasuke drew out a pokeball and threw it at the Stantler, another beam of red shot out of the pokeball, connecting with Stantler and sucking it in. The ball rattled around violently. Stantler were notorious for being rare and hard to catch. The ball continued rattling, slowing down before a loud ping was heard, the ball stopped rattling, just laying in the grass. Misdreavus lifted up the ball telepathically and hovered it over to Sasuke, where it dropped in his hand.

Naruto looked at Sasuke in confusion. "Why d'you catch that?"

"I had a feeling that I might be needing one later." Sasuke answered Naruto's silent question.

Naruto only shook his head. "Whatever. Let's go to Route 206. I want to get some pokemon." Naruto was already heading to the fence surrounding route 206 by the time he had finished that sentence.

* * *

Sakura was training hard, she had practise her routines for the contest and now she was improving her pokemon's over strengths. She was currently engage in a battle with a wild Meditite. A female one if the position of it's ears were anything to go by. If wasn't giving up at all, every time Sakura knocked it down it got straight back up.

"Cherubi use Magical Leaf." Sakura called out. Cherubi's colour changing leaves struck Meditite once again, knocking it to the floor.

As Sakura guess it got back to it's feet. It was levitating anymore. Sakura guessed that it didn't have the time to achieve the focus to do so now.

_'I think I've battled it enough.'_ Sakura thought to herself. She wanted this Meditite, she loved it's unbending spirit. She pulled out a pokeball and threw it, tapping Meditite on the head and sucking it in. The ball rattled violently, but Meditite didn't have the strength left to escape. The ball ping as it stopped rattling.

Sakura jumped up in glee and ran towards the pokeball, inside was her brand new pokemon. She stared at the pokeball in fascination, but she realised that she was in the shade. She looked down, a shadow that didn't fit into the mountains shaped stood above her.

She looked up, a white pokemon with hardened red eyes glared down at her. The claws on it's paws clicked against the rock as it flexed it's finger muscles. A large blue horn sticking out the side of it's face.

_'An Absol!'_ Sakura was worried. She must have been in it's territory and she must have been in it for a while. But from what she had seen of Absol, this one looked different. Black ties were wrapped around each one of it's legs. _'Did it escape from something?'_ The Absol continued glaring at her, as if trying to find something that she should have or be near.

Sakura didn't want to stay under it's gaze. She quickly turned and ran, there was no way she could battle this when all her pokemon were tired out from training.

As she ran she looked over her shoulder to make sure the Absol wasn't following her. The Absol remained in it's same spot, it continued watching her leave. _'I might have just been in it's territory.'_ Sakura told herself, focusing on the front of the road as she high tailed it out of there.

* * *

Sasuke and Naruto began cycling back up to Eterna City. Going down hill was different. The wind broke against their faces, barely any effort was needed. Now going uphill, they were fighting against gravity, and they were just barely winning.

But Naruto's heart wasn't into cycling now. He pouted as he cycled weakly. "I can't believe we didn't find a single Gligar." He grumbled out.

"You'll have another chance when we come back down this way for the Larvitar migration swarm." Sasuke called from across the road.

"Don't you mean for Sakura's contest?" Naruto responded.

"That too." Sasuke had almost completely forgotten, his mind had been fixed on training these past few days. "Now keep up. I want to be back in Eterna before the sun goes down."

* * *

It felt good to be walking, for both Naruto and Sasuke. They had returned the bikes after riding up hill back to Eterna City. That was painful, every muscle in their legs ached, but they needed to return to the pokemon centre. Slowly they dragged their feet across the ground, inching ever closer to the pokedex.

"SASUKE-KUN!" Sasuke was glomped by a platinum blonde blur, it was a girl. Naruto looked to the direction she arrived. A brown haired boy and a Machoke holding someone was coming in their direction.

"Well look who it is." Whatever the Machoke was holding spoke first. Slowly lifting his head it let out a long, loud yawn.

"I can't believe you Shikamaru." Naruto sighed out at the dark haired boy.

Shikamaru jumped out of Machoke's arms before returning it to it's ball. "It was Machoke's idea, and I don't need to justify myself to you." Shikamaru frowned his usual frown. "What are you guys still doing here, when we last saw you you were speeding away."

"There were setbacks and complications." Sasuke spoke as he stood up, finally relinquishing Ino's grip on him.

"You ran into Team Origin, didn't you?" Shikamaru asked them lazily, slouching back into a more comfortable position for them.

Naruto and Sasuke were alarmed. "How did you know?"

"It was all over the news that they attacked Eterna Telecommunications Tower. What scared everyone was that it was at the same time Team Galactic attacked the Hearthome Cathedral. Which is why we are able to take our time, because of the attack Ino and Choji's contest has been postponed." Shikamaru explained. As if on cue at the mention of contests, Sakura strolled out the pokemon centre.

"Better hurry up Sakura, the Hearthome contest is in two days." Ino jeered from where they were standing.

"I know that, we are heading out tomorrow after Sasuke and Naruto win their second badges." Sakura smirked in return.

"How did you know that Hearthome's Cathedral was being attacked?" Naruto asked once again.

Shikamaru sighed. "Because it was on the news." He spoke in annoyance. "And Kiba phoned us and told us. Apparently, he Shino and Hinata were caught in the middle of it. And also Shino received some award for stalling and defeating one of Team Galactic's commanders."

Sakura, Naruto and Sasuke were shocked. _'Shino...managed to defeat one of Team Galactic's Commanders.'_ Was their shared thought.

However Sasuke's mind delved beyond that. _'Are Team Origin and Team Galactic not the same? Shino was always second best in the academy. Has he already surpassed me? He uses only Bug types. How can he be so strong? Am I really that weak?'_

"So what did the Cathedral have that Team Galactic were after?" Sakura asked Shikamaru directly, as he seemed to be the one with the answers.

He didn't have the answer. He shrugged his shoulder lazily. "Don't know. My dad's going to Hearthome to investigate and analyse the situation. Being the super detective that he is or something like that."

"So you guys don't have your second badge yet?" Choji asked between snacking.

"Not yet. Shikamaru, you've beaten Gardenia. Battle me." Naruto almost demanded. "If I can beat you. I'm ready for the Eterna Gym."

"Yeah, you can keep him busy while I go heal Stantler." Sasuke spoke to Shikamaru about Naruto.

Shikamaru's eyebrow rose. "A Stantler?" Sasuke nodded. "Can I see it?"

Sasuke shrugged, taking out Stantler's ball he opened it. Stantler soon appeared. Still a little bruised from it's capture, but strong enough to stand proudly in front of everyone.

Shikamaru inspected the pokemon, stroking it gently and tapping it's horns. "Their quite a troublesome pokemon to find, but I really want one. So are you willing to trade for it?"

"What have you got?" Sasuke asked in reply.

Shikamaru pulled out a pokeball. A small metal pokemon appeared with two magnets on either side of it's circle grey body, a screw in the top of it's head and one large eye with a very small pupil. "I caught this on our trip to Fuego Ironworks, it's quite strong really. It knows Thunderbolt and Magnet Bomb, so it might be quite close to evolving."

_Magnemite, The Magnet Pokemon, The units at its sides generate electromagnetic waves that keep it airborne. It feeds on electricity._

Sasuke looked at the Magnemite. He did need an Electric type. And this Magnemite did look strong. Plus he was near Mt. Coronet, and if what he heard about Mt. Coronet magnetic fields were true, he could have a fully evolved Magnezone if Magnemite evolved into Magneton on the trek down to Hearthome.

"And it came with this." Shikamaru spoke while shuffling through his bag, he pulled out a cylindrical metal object. "It's a metal coat, I don't really have any use for it, so it's quite troublesome to continue carrying it around. So I'll let you have it."

_'A metal coat?'_ Sasuke's mind asked, if he caught a Scyther or a Onix he could have their evolved forms. That would be so bad.

"Alright then."

* * *

Shikamaru and Sasuke stood at either side of the trading machine, flashing colours and mindless beeping filled the room. Each of them held a pokeball in their hand.

"Right, so we put the pokeball here." Shikamaru commented. Placing his pokeball on the small stand in the machine, Sasuke doing the same at the other side.

Moving to the centre where the lever was to start the machine up, Shikamaru gestured for Sasuke to do the honours. Sasuke complied. Grabbing the handle Sasuke pulled down hard, the lever was stiff, like the machine hadn't been used in a while.

The many flickering lights co-ordinated, flashing in a constant pattern. The screen went on. Silhouettes of Stantler and Magnemite past each other, coming from opposite ends of the screen. The pokeballs vanished, reappearing again in the exact same spot. The machine powered back down, the lights and beeps becoming random again.

Sasuke and Shikamaru picked up their respective pokeballs, containing their new pokemon. Shikamaru gave Sasuke a quick nod in gratitude, Sasuke returned it.

"Hey Shikamaru, let's battle now!" Naruto broke the silence.

"Fine. If it'll shut you up." Shikamaru sighed in annoyance, before Naruto could shout in excitement he continued. "But not today, I want to teach Stantler a new move first. I've been saving it for a while."

* * *

**A/N:** Well, how was it? Read and Review as always. Someone asked about Gaara, he will make an appearence soon, but I don't know when.

So Sasuke got a Magnetmite, everyone seems to forget about Magnemite when it comes to Electric types. I think it will be a good match up with Sasuke. Shikamaru and a Machoke, good times.

Next Chapter: Hopefully will see the end of the Eterna Arc and they can move on. But I'm gonna be taking a break from this and work on my other fics. Most likely release a few chapters of Those Eyes (name subject to change) and release a chapter of ACFI and Becoming The Legend, so I keep in the boundary of my writer law. So next chapter will be up probably next month, but I can't give you a specific date. And in the oncoming chapters one of the team's pokemon is gonna evolve, I won't say which one so you're free to contemplate. But I will say that they evolve for all the wrong reasons.

Oh BTW. Is there a Pokemon move that can heal other fainted pokemon? I need to know if I can have one of the Akatsuki member's pokemon to function properly. And I don't want to make up moves.

Well that's about it,

Rinne-Kami Out!


	13. Shikamaru and Gardenia

**A/N:** Yo! Been a while hasn't it? You see, Fairy Tail Utopia was surprisingly successful, so I felt obligated to work on that more, plus I had recently lost the will to write this, mainly because this chapter is really battle oriented, and I don't do fight scenes too well. But nonetheless, I have an obligation as an author that I must fulfill, so I broke this down even further and told myself to write a certain bit each day, and finally this was done.

Well anyway onto the chapter, finally the end of Eterna, about time as well, I couldn't have been the only one that was bored of it now, I've squeezed all available plot lines out of it, a lot of emotion, drama and action and now we can safely move on. Shikamaru's fighting debut is this chapter, not surprisingly its not very good, but that might just be my writing style. Gardenia vs Naruto as well. So it really is a Battle chapter.

One of the teams experience and evolution this chapter, it wasn't the one I spoke about earlier, I was supposed to add it in Chapter 10, but I kind of forgot about it.

Well, that's about it. I'll explain a bit more of future events in the ending A/N, see you in however long it takes to finish reading this chapter.

* * *

"You ready?" Naruto called across from the makeshift field, the very same field where he lost to Kakashi. This time he would have more luck. "I made the challenge, so you make the rules."

Shikamaru gave out a loud yawn, looking towards the brightening sky. "Why did we have to get up so early?"

"Sasuke was already up as well, he said he had to do something." Naruto replied to Shikamaru's rhetorical question. _'Probably just gone ahead to battle Gardenia.'_

Shikamaru let out another long groan. "So troublesome, we'll have a two on two battle. No time limits." Shikamaru reached for a pokeball, giving it a weak throw, it dropped to the floor, rolling a few extra feet before opening.

"Machoke!" Shikamaru's ripped pokemon exploded onto the field.

_'I'll never get used to seeing those two together.'_ Naruto commented in his own mind, his choice for a pokemon was easy. "Staravia!"

Staravia flew around in the air, performing an intricate series of aerial moves, before hovering gracefully in the air.

"I'll take the first move, Staravia, Quick Attack!" Naruto almost instantly shouted, Staravia struck Machoke lightning fast, dead in the centre of it's chest. "Follow up with Wing Attack!"

Staravia struck Machoke with it's wing, making Machoke soar into the air before crashing into the ground with a thud.

_'Strange, why isn't Shikamaru attempting to dodge, or even Counter attack?' _Naruto looked at the two battling opponents, moving from Quick Attack to Wing Attack left an opportunity to dodge and counter, if Naruto knew that, he was sure Shikamaru knew that as well, he was much smarter and analytical than himself.

"Now, Machoke use Karate Chop." Shikamaru called lazily, Machoke stood up, quickly charging at Staravia.

But its charge was slow. "Staravia, dodge!" Naruto called out, expecting the much faster Staravia to evade the attack.

Machoke made a sharp turn in its charge, it exploded upwards in a jump, moving to the exact position of Staravia in the air, delivering a brutal chop to Staravia's body.

"Follow up with Seismic Toss." Shikamaru lazily ordered. Machoke quickly caught Staravia by the wings, spinning forwards multiple times extremely quickly as they plummeted to the floor, nearing the ground Machoke slammed Staravia down with it's super strength.

"What's going on?" Naruto shouted in surprise. "How did Machoke catch up to Staravia?"

Shikamaru sighed. "Machoke's ability, No Guard, no matter what Machoke's accuracy is 100%, his attacks can't miss. Unfortunately it's the same for his opponent." Shikamaru's eyes suddenly went wide. "I probably shouldn't have told you that much." Shikamaru slapped his forehead, dragging his hand down his face. Groaning once again. "How troublesome."

_'Staravia can't miss.'_ Naruto repeated that bit in his head. "Then Staravia use Wing Attack!"

Staravia struck Machoke once again with deadly precision. "Follow it up with another one!"

"Machoke use Karate Chop." Shikamaru called, Staravia turned quickly in mid air, striking Machoke from behind this time.

_'I see, so this match has become a battle of speed. But not speed of the pokemon, speed of the trainer. Whichever trainer calls their attack first will be the one to hit.'_ Naruto analysed every detail to the best of his ability.

"Staravia, another Wing Attack!" Naruto shouted, Staravia once again hitting it's target perfectly. _'But if Shikamaru knew this, why doesn't he just consistently attack, it would be an easy win. What are the moves Machoke can learn, Low Kick, Seismic Toss, Karate Chop, Vital Throw, it learns one before Vital Throw, but what is it?'_

Naruto's eyes went wide in realisation, he looked to Shikamaru, seeing a smirk growing on the lazy boy's face. "Did you figure it out? My strategy, Machoke use Revenge." He called lazily.

Naruto saw Machoke's body light up in red, steam rising from every inch of it's body, it's eyes lost their pupils, becoming pure white in rage. "Staravia, quick use Wing Attack!" Naruto fearfully shouted, accumulating all the super effective damage Staravia inflicted on Machoke and sending it back, he needed to finish quickly, but would he have time?

Staravia dived towards Machoke, wings extended for what might be it's final attack. Machoke at the same time leaped forwards, fist clenched for the bone shattering punch it was intending to deliver.

Naruto's eyes went even further wide, Staravia hit first, striking Machoke in the centre of it's stomach.

"Mach!" Machoke grunted in pain, but didn't stop its own attack, Staravia being right under it, Machoke hammered its fist downwards, battering Staravia directly on the head.

Both combatants tumbled towards the ground, crushing it underneath them when they landed, smoke rising completely around them.

Naruto, looked for any signs that Staravia was okay through the thick smoke, it began dispersing, revealing a Machoke standing tall above a fallen Staravia, an physical metaphor of overcoming one's weaknesses.

Machoke smiled at its down opponent, before it began falling backwards, hitting the ground with a large thud, fainting from its injuries and exhaustion.

Naruto looked at the two pokemon. "Staravia had fainted first, so Machoke wins." He commented to Shikamaru as they both returned their exhausted pokemon to their pokeballs.

"We still got one more match, Naruto. That's what will decide the winner." Shikamaru replied, reaching for a new pokeball. "Go, Stantler."

"Stantler." The deer pokemon stood quite calmly, waiting for Naruto to summon a pokemon.

_'Sasuke's Stantler. I never really got to see what it could do.'_ Naruto reached for a pokeball, making his choice. "Turtwig!"

"Turtwig." Naruto's green pokemon smiled at the opportunity to battle, something it hadn't done in a while. _'He mentioned that he wanted to teach Stantler something. I wonder what it is?'_ Naruto commented inwardly.

"Turtwig, let's start with Razor Leaf!" Naruto shouted, Turtwig quickly launched sharp leaves towards Stantler.

"Stantler, jump in the air to dodge and follow with Stomp." Shikamaru called, Stantler doing just that.

"Turtwig, Withdraw!" Turtwig sunk back into it's shell, Stantler front hooves slammed down onto Turtwig's back, Turtwig squinted in pain inside it's shell.

Stantler continued stomping on Turtwig's hard shell, but nothing was happening, it leaned it's head forwards to look into the shell, Turtwig burst it's head out, biting hard on Stantler's face.

Stantler shook its head wildly, trying to free the grip on it's nose, Turtwig finally relinquished it's grip, flying freely in the air. "Use Absorb!" Turtwig's leaf on it head began glowing, sapping energy from Stantler and back towards itself.

_'Time to try out the new move I spent all night teaching Stantler. It was well worth the purchase'_ Shikamaru smirked. "Stantler use Psychic."

Stantler's horns shone a multitude of colours, before Turtwig was suddenly blasted backwards by an unseen force, colliding into a nearby tree, the crunching sound of bark breaking echoing through the field.

_'So that's what he taught it.'_ Naruto looked on at the battle, Turtwig wouldn't be able to last if it is continuously struck by those attacks. _'I'll have to end this quickly!'_ "Turtwig, use Razor Leaf!"

The quick recovery took Stantler by surprise, the cost was being hit by the multiple Leaves.

_'It may have Psychic, but it is still a new pokemon, not used to battling yet.'_ Naruto noted, "follow up with a Tackle!"

Turtwig quickly thrust it's body into Stantler, sending the pokemon backwards. "Follow up with another Razor Leaf!"

Again a flurry of sharp leaves struck Stantler, dealing quite a lot of damage.

_'He's not giving me a chance to counter or for Stantler to dodge, Naruto really wants to win.'_ Shikamaru looked on, Naruto just calling for Turtwig to use an Absorb attack, hitting Stantler again with precision.

"Turtwig, finish off with Razor Leaf!" Naruto yelled, the leaves struck the downed Stantler, making sure that it didn't stand back up.

"That's enough Naruto." Shikamaru called. "You win." He droned out lazily, returning Stantler to its pokeball.

Naruto took a moment to comprehend what had just been said, before his face widened with happiness.

"Yahoo!" Naruto leaped into the air, then ran towards Turtwig, hugging it tightly, spilling his gratitude everywhere for the pokemon. "I'm pumped up now! I gotta go and win my second badge while luck's on my side! See ya later Shikamaru!" Naruto darted away, carrying Turtwig with him.

Shikamaru watched the blonde boy speed off, before sighing loudly. "What a troublesome guy. Still, I hope he wins."

-Break-

After healing his pokemon and meeting an awakening Sakura in the pokemon centre Naruto walked with anticipation towards Eterna Gym. His battle and win against Shikamaru had boosted his confidence in battling against Gardenia, someone who Shikamaru had previously defeated.

"Shouldn't we be looking for Sasuke? You said he took off during your battle with Shikamaru." Sakura spoke from his side, trying to keep up with his speedy walking pace.

Naruto shook his head before smiling at her. "Sasuke's probably already set off to Eterna Gym to battle Gardenia. I think he wants to get on the road to Hearthome. Besides he has the advantage against her, what with his fire type and such."

_'Fire type. That reminds me.'_ Sakura thought. She took out a pokeball and threw it high. "Eevee."

"Eevee." Eevee hopped into view, smiling widely at Sakura and Naruto, before yawning having just woke up from a nap.

Sakura rummaged through her bag, taking out the yellow stone with a bright flame forever preserved inside it. She bent down and offered it to Eevee. "Take it, Eevee." She spoke gently to her pokemon, which was fascinated by the glowing of the flame, it moved its paw forwards in order to touch the stone. The results was instantaneous.

The bright light of evolution enveloped Eevee and the stone, morphing Eevee's form, fur around the neck became longer and more styled, tail growing larger and more wild, Eevee's entire body grew larger. The light died down, revealing red fur replacing brown, beige fur on the neck and tail replacing white.

"Flareon." Sakura's new pokemon let out a yawn, before curling up into a ball, returning to it's nap.

_Flareon, The Flame Pokemon, Flareon's fluffy fur has a functional purpose - it releases heat into the air so that its body does not get excessively hot. This pokemon's body temperature can rise to a maximum of 1,650 degrees F. _

Naruto put away his pokedex. "Well...that was random." Naruto admitted to Sakura as she returned Flareon to it's pokeball.

"I needed a fire type, and I was thinking for a while what to evolve Eevee into. When Sasuke gave me those stones, I knew what I wanted to evolve it into." Sakura admitted. "What about you? Have you decided what you want to evolve Eevee into? You got the Water Stone from Sasuke, why not evolve it into Vaporeon."

Naruto shrugged his shoulders, continuing to walk towards the Eterna Gym. "Don't know really. I was thinking Umbreon. I need a Dark type."

"But you also need a Water, Psychic, Fire and Ice type. Eevee can give you all of those?" Sakura pointed out to him.

"Yeah, but there are a lot of Water types to choose from, so I don't want to rush picking them, I want a few water types after all. There are fire types around, we'll be going to the Day Care centre soon, there might be pokemon eggs there that weren't collected. Same with Ice. And there is a Psychic type coming up that I have set my sights on." Naruto replied. "Let's go. Sasuke's definitely at the gym, he's probably already won by now." Naruto added, taking off towards the gym at a faster pace.

-Break-

"There's the gym!" Naruto bounced towards the Eterna gym with anticipation, he had been on edge since his win against Shikamaru, he knew he could beat Gardenia. He just knew it.

At the doors of the Gym stood Sasuke, leaning leisurely against the wall. His head slowly moved upwards enough to glimpse the two. "Took your time, didn't you?"

Naruto pointed an accusative finger at Sasuke. "You sold me out again!" He blurted out. "Sneaking away to battle Gardenia and get ahead of me!"

"Not really." Sasuke sighed. "It's just I didn't want to wait around any longer, I've grown sick of Eterna." He replied coolly. _'There's to many bad memories here.'_

Naruto scowled at the uninterested boy. Before shaking everything from his head, he had a job to do here, and he wasn't going to let Sasuke ruin his focus on winning.

He walked straight past Sasuke and Sakura and entered the gym, Sasuke and Sakura following soon after. The field was preprepared, Gardenia standing confidently on the other side.

"About time you showed up Naruto!" Gardenia called, a smirk present on her face. "I was beginning to get worried!"

"You should still be worried!" Naruto shouted confidently in return. "Because I aim to win!"

Gardenia's grin grew larger. "Well then, lets not waste any time. It'll be a three on three battle, no substitutions for me, no time limit!"

She instantly grabbed a pokeball, throwing it high in the air. "Turtwig, Go!"

"Turtwig!" Gardenia's Turtwig called strongly, Naruto noticed the small flick at the end of the Turtwig's eyelashes, and the slightly more feminine voice compared to his own Turtwig.

_'I shouldn't start with Staravia, I'll save him for later. For now I should choose, a pokemon that Grass types don't do much damage against.'_ Naruto began his plan, he reached for a pokeball, Grass types never did much damage against other grass types. "Go, Turtwig!"

Naruto's Turtwig entered the field confidently, locking on to its opponent instantly. "Turtwig will start with a Tackle!" Naruto shouted.

Immediately Turtwig charged towards Gardenia's. Intent on knocking it across the field.

Gardenia's Turtwig refused to move, instead tilted it's head to the left and giving Naruto's Turtwig a wink, accompanied by a quiet girlish giggle.

Turtwig stopped in it's tracks, sweating profusely. "T-T-Turtwig!" Turtwig sharply turned to Naruto, looking for some sort of guidance, which Naruto didn't possess.

"Now Turtwig use Tackle!" Gardenia shouted, her own Turtwig charged towards Naruto's, striking it with it's back turned.

Turtwig was knocked towards him, scraping along the ground in front of him, reaching a halt.

_'What the hell was that?'_ Naruto screamed in his mind, Turtwig struggled to its feet, turning around to face his opponent again.

Naruto growled, "Turtwig, use Tackle again!"

Turtwig lunged at Gardenia's Turtwig once again, as it neared her own, Gardenia's Turtwig turned its head to the floor, kicking the ground softly with it's front leg. Sadness evident of its face.

Turtwig stopped its run, now approaching Gardenia's Turtwig gently. "Turtwig, Turtwig?" It ask gently, patting the other Turtwig on its back with his front leg.

Gardenia's Turtwig looked up at him, a tear leaking from its eye, it snuggled into Naruto's Turtwig, seeming to be crying.

Gardenia smirked. "Turtwig, now use Bite!"

The crying stopped instantly, the saddened look turned to an evil glint, Turtwig chomped down hard on Naruto's, spinning it in the air and throwing it back towards Naruto's feet.

"What the hell is this?" Naruto shouted aloud to Gardenia, who smirked at the other end at the field.

"I have no idea what Turtwig's up to, but it appears to be working." Gardenia retaliated.

Naruto growled, looking down towards his Turtwig._ 'Whatever it's doing it's working. Turtwig can't handle something that can't fight back!'_ Naruto's mind suddenly clicked. _'It can't fight back! To lure Turtwig in it lowers its defence completely!'_ Naruto smirked, standing confidently, Turtwig getting up to stare back at its trainer.

"Turtwig, one more Tackle." Naruto spoke to Turtwig, it nodded in return and began a charge towards Gardenia's, as Naruto suspected, it began to play that card again, looking at his own Turtwig with teary eyes. "Now Turtwig, close your eyes and keep charging!" Naruto shouted.

Turtwig closed it's eyes, it couldn't fall for that game anymore, it charged straight forwards, it hit something that moved, giving out a loud yelp as it was heaved into the air. Turtwig opened it's eyes, seeing his opponent flying in the air.

"Turtwig, follow it and use Tackle!" Naruto's Turtwig jumped, striking Gardenia's once again, it quickly grabbed Gardenia's with it's mouth, hurling it back towards the ground with incredible force.

"Finish it Turtwig! Use the Turtwig Cannonball!" Naruto yelled a made up attack. Turtwig grabbed it's hind legs with its front legs, dropping to the Earth with speed, it landed directly on top of Gardenia's Turtwig, crushing it under its weight.

"Turtwig..." Gardenia's Turtwig grumbled out, the wind knocked out of it by the pokemon bomb dropped on it.

Gardenia grumbled as well, returning her fainted grass pokemon back to it's ball. "Don't get cocky yet, you've still got two more pokemon to beat! Go Roserade!"

"Roserade." Her green pokemon spoke calmly, spinning it's bouquet for hands around.

_Roserade, The Bouquet Pokemon, Each of its hands contains different toxins, but both hands can jab with near-fatal power. _

Naruto put away his pokedex. _'I see, it looks really strong, that must be her powerhouse for her team. Should I switch for Staravia now, or wait until I've weakened it a bit?'_ Naruto conjured plans in his head, however none provided him with an easy win.

"Roserade, start with Magical Leaf!" Gardenia took the first move, Roserade spun quickly, launching leaves towards Turtwig.

"Turtwig, dodge and use Tackle!" Turtwig jumped over the leaves, diving towards Roserade, slamming its head towards Roserade's body. "Follow up with another Tackle!"

Turtwig quickly turned, darting towards Roserade again. Roserade recovered quickly, now able to dodge the incoming Turtwig. "Use Grasswhistle!"

Roserade put its bouquets to its mouth, a gentle lullaby was produced quickly. Naruto began feeling drowsy, he turned to see the effect on Turtwig, who had already dropped to the floor in sleep.

"Now Roserade use Grass Knot!" Gardenia shouted, Roserade created vines sprouting from it's bouquets, wrapping around Turtwig, slamming it hard into the ground while squeezing it. "Follow up with a Poison Jab!" Roserade's pink bouquet shone a purple colour, it jabbed it straight into Turtwig.

Turtwig flew backwards, rolling on the floor to a halt. "How was Turtwig taken down so easily?" Naruto shouted in frustration.

"When a pokemon falls asleep, it completely drops all its defences, I can't believe you didn't know that." Gardenia smirked in return.

Naruto growled, returning Turtwig back to it's ball. He didn't have to choose his next pokemon. He instantly went for it's pokeball. "Go Staravia!"

Staravia flapped its wings upon release. "Staravia, kick things off with a Wing Attack!" Naruto wasted no time, Staravia flew towards Roserade, catching it off guard from the speed Staravia possessed. Roserade was struck hard by Staravia's wing, lifting it into the air with Staravia.

"Follow up with Gust!" Naruto moved to take full advantage of Roserade's weakness against Flying types. Staravia flapped it's wings fast and hard, a small tornado of wind spun Roserade in the air, throwing it up towards the ceiling.

"Staravia, finish it off with Wing Attack!" Naruto roared loudly, Staravia flew above Roserade, quickly moved downwards it struck Roserade with it's wings, pushing it back towards the ground.

Roserade hit the ground, Staravia moved itself away from the impact to avoid damage. Gardenia quickly returned Roserade, moving to her final pokemon "Cherubi, Go!"

Gardenia's Cherubi popped into appearance, looking at Gardenia with a smile, then glaring hard at Staravia.

"Hmph, Naruto's won." Sasuke spoke from the side where he and Sakura stood.

"What makes you say that?" Sakura asked in return, noting the smirk on Sasuke's face.

"I battled Gardenia before Naruto, Roserade was her secret weapon. Cherubi was easily defeated when I battled using Houndour." Sasuke filled her in on the details.

"So, that's got nothing to do with winning this battle." Sakura returned, slightly annoyed that Sasuke was demeaning Cherubi.

"It has everything to do with it. You saw Staravia battling, Roserade didn't land a hit on it. And it has the type advantage. Naruto's won." Sasuke looked at her at the corner of his eye, only tilting his head slightly.

Before Sakura could comment, Naruto made the first move. "Staravia, Wing Attack!" Once again Staravia flew low towards it's opponent, moving at too fast a speed for Cherubi to dodge.

"Staravia, follow up with another Wing Attack!" Staravia charged in again, hitting Cherubi once again with an extraordinarily powerful Wing Attack.

Cherubi spun around a few times in a daze, before falling backwards onto the floor, exhaling quietly to itself.

"No! Cherubi, get up!" Gardenia shouted at her pink pokemon, but it was no use, Cherubi had fainted. Gardenia sighed, returning Cherubi back to its pokeball. "Have a nice long rest, okay." She spoke softly to the pokeball. "I guess you win Naruto."

_'Really? That fast?'_ Naruto's eyebrow rose in suspicion, watching Gardenia approach him calmly, her left had clenched around an object.

She stopped just in front of him, opening her hand to reveal the contents. "Go ahead and take it, you deserve it."

-Break-

Naruto continued to stare at his second gym badge, how the sun gleamed off it's silver colour. How it shone so brightly no matter what light he held it in, it was magic, the feeling of knowing he deserved something like this was overwhelming.

"Yeah Naruto, I got one too. Stop staring at it or you'll lose it." Sasuke commented from next to him.

Naruto shot him a quick stare, before decided he was right. Placing his new badge next to his first in his badge case. "Speaking of which, how did you bet Gardenia?" Naruto asked Sasuke.

Sasuke gave a quick scoff accompanied by a smirk. "It wasn't hard. Murkrow took down her Turtwig, then Misdreavus took down her Roserade and Houndour made quick work of her Cherubi. A bit pathetic for a Gym leader really."

_'Well there goes his new found compassion.'_ Naruto squinted his eyes towards Sasuke, commenting on him in his mind.

"Well you guys got to do what you wanted, now it's my turn!" Sakura threw her arms around their shoulders, smiling. "I say we get a move on towards Hearthome, my contest isn't going to wait for me, you know!"

"But what about the Larvitar migration?" Naruto almost whined, looking at Sakura with pleading eyes.

"That's now?" Sakura eyes went slightly wide in alarm, she thought she new all the key dates about pokemon and their migrations. "We can see it on the way down, now lets go!" She took off in front of them leaving Naruto and Sasuke behind.

The two looked to each other, then towards Sakura running far in front of them. _'This isn't right.'_ Both commented inwardly.

Sasuke quick took off after her, leaving Naruto to stand alone.

He turned, facing the small City of Eterna. A lot had happened here. "I hope things aren't as stressful as they were here in the future." He sighed, turning to take off after his two friends.

The three of them had been together for a while now. Although Naruto didn't want to admit it, but he knew what was coming.

_'Sasuke isn't the tag a long type, he likes to do things his own way, and Sakura, she'd follow him through a Volcano.' _Naruto knew their team would be breaking soon, so he would enjoy every moment that they still had together.

* * *

**A/N:** Well, how was it? In my own honest opinion I'd have to give it a 7/10, yeah sure it was good, but it could have been better.

First things first, was anyone expecting Sakura to evolve Eevee first, and into a Flareon, I've decided to evolve Sasuke's into an Espeon and Naruto's into an Umbreon, but not for a while.

On that note, I've also decided that each of a three lovable characters will get one of the starter types each. Not all at the same time, but you know how in the anime some of the pokemon were wild or left behind by trainers. I wanted them to have one starter from each region, but I don't want any of them to get a Charmander, so that muddled up that plan, so here's how it will work. Naruto will get a Turtwig, Cyndaquil and Mudkip, Sakura will get a Chikorita, Chimchar and Piplup and Sasuke will get a Torchic, Treecko and Squirtle Or Totodile.

Next couple of chapters will be the travel to Hearthome, two planned captures and one evolution booked. After Hearthome the team will break up, there will also be an introduction of the next Team Origin Commander, Solid as well as an introduction of an Akatsuki member, Deidara, you can probably guess why I was asking if there was a move that healed fainted pokemon for him, huh.

I'll be updating The Best Years Fly By Quickly and Becoming The Legend, followed by a Fairy Tail Utopia and A Complete Family, Imcomplete Update, finishing with a The Tools We Use update. I've only got nine days to finish this, so I best hurry XD

Well, that's about it

Til Next Time,

Rinne-Kami, Out!


	14. The Secret Cave Omake 2

"I can't believe that guy's price just to rent a bike!" Naruto whined as they slowly made their way down the mountain face, the craggy broken ground eroding away with every small step they took on it.

"Whining is not going to do anything, Naruto," Sasuke, leading the three man party down the side of the mountain called back to Naruto, the furthest behind. "Just brace it and we'll be down soon enough."

"But still, he was so nice to us before and let us rent bikes the first time." Naruto rebutted insistently, the bike shop owner even refuse to give them a discount off the rent price.

"Stop complaining, Naruto. We're near the bottom any way." Sakura called over her shoulder, landing on a platform next to Sasuke, there was no further way down other than a straight drop, nothing to cling onto further to lower themselves. Sakura looked over the height, it was far enough to break a few bones.

Naruto landed next to her, similarly gazing down at the drop below, instantly his head twisted towards Sasuke angrily, glaring into the side of the raven haired boy's face. "What the hell do we do now, huh?"

Sasuke only sighed in annoyance, calmly bringing out a pokeball. "Murkrow." He tossed the ball lazily, his black bird screamed out upon arrival, circling overhead like a vulture.

It swooped down and captured Sasuke's shoulders in it's yellow talons, struggling to pick him up, but managing to do so. The Murkrow flapped against the wind powerfully, gracefully taking Sasuke to the floor below.

Sasuke returned Murkrow to it's ball, looking back up, he waited for them to descend down with a questioningly bored expression.

"Smartass." Naruto muttered under his breath, bringing out Staravia to perform the same deed as Murkrow did earlier. Once Naruto had safely landing Staravia went back up for Sakura, carefully brining her down as well.

"Thank you." Sakura smiled at Naruto as he returned the Staravia to it's ball. Naruto flashed a large grin in return to the pink haired girl.

"Hey guys." They turned to Sasuke's call, he stood directly under the bridge in the darkness, intently staring at something. Naruto and Sakura approached him, they found that he was staring at a small hole, barely large enough to fit a human through it.

"What do you think it's for?" Naruto asked curiously, the hole certainly wasn't man made, but still seemed deep enough to climb in.

They were cut off by an ear piercing scream of terror, it sounded as if produced from a small girl.

"We have to help her!" Sakura took command, almost diving into the hole, Naruto and Sasuke watched her skid down the hole, followed by a thud.

"Looks like we have no choice." Sasuke mumbled, hopping down the hole himself, Naruto followed both of them slowly after. Creeping his way down the hole, he lost his footing sliding straight down into whatever lay below.

* * *

"Hello! Can you hear me?" Sakura called into the darkness, they could see multiple paths ahead in front of them only because of the light entering through the small entrance into this hidden cave.

"Please, help me!" A sobbing plea replied, obviously a young girl, her cries and sniffles echoed through the cave, making it hard to determine which path to take.

"I think we're going to need to split up," Sakura turned to the two boys. "we can cover a lot more ground that way."

"But how are we going to be able to see through this cave, or make our way back to the entrance." Naruto pointed out the problems, he was right. They had no way of leaving a trail back in the darkness.

Sakura gave a hum, tapping her chin a few times, her fingers clicked loudly, finding some nearby roots attached into the cave walls she tore them out, handing them to Sasuke. "Sasuke, could you use Houndour to light these, please." She smiled.

Nodding Sasuke brought out Houndour who shot small embers of fire out of his mouth, lighting the tips of the roots, Sakura handed some of the roots to Naruto and Sasuke, they lit up the cave, a pale grey colour of edgy rock, small pillars of rock held up the top of the cave, dripping water fell all around them. It was eerie, and they had no idea what lay within the cavern.

"Go, Surskit!" Sakura brought out her blue pokemon. "Surskit, could you use sweet scent on the entrance to the cave please." She smiled down, the Surskit complied, spraying the entrance in a pink spray. "Okay, now we can find our way back. Sasuke and Naruto, use Houndour and Luxio to trace the scent back to here, apparently Sweet Scent is easily noticed by pokemon so we should leave now before any arrive."

* * *

"Keep a memory of the smell of that Sweet Scent, Houndour," Sasuke spoke towards his fire type pokemon at his feet. "We can found our way back out more quickly if you do so."

Houndour nodded in response, before it's ears suddenly perked up, Sasuke noticed Houndour's reaction and looked towards it curiously. "What is it?"

Houndour continued staring forwards, Sasuke looked in the direction, focusing he could hear a rustling of sorts, like feet skidding across the flooring, as well as quiet, almost muffled grunting.

"Be ready, Houndour." Sasuke spoke quietly, it could be the girl he was looking for, or it could be something dangerous.

They entered into a larger circular room within the cave, with thin pillars holding up the ceilling, the grunting had increased, and was directly to the left of them.

Sasuke whipped around, he found a small green thing, struggling to get it's head out of the cave wall, it's feet, running on the ground in an attempt to push itself out, it arms pyshing against the walls of the cave. Sasuke scanned his pokedex over the green creature. In hopes of finding out just what it was.

_Larvitar, The Rock Skin Pokemon, Larvitar is born deep under the ground. To come up to the surface, this pokemon must eat its way through the soil above. Until it does so, Larvitar cannot see its parent's face. _

_'Interesting, this one must have hatched and escaped quicker, but why is it back to front, shouldn't it's head be the first thing that emerges?' _Sasuke wondered as he put his pokedex away, he couldn't just leave the green pokemon in this predicament. Sighing, Sasuke moved towards the small Larvitar and began digging at the cave walls around it's head, Houndour doing the same, scratching tiny fragments of the rock off each time.

He began to pull on the Larvitar's body once their was a bit more space, with some force the Larvitar's head popped out of the wall. It took a moment to look at it's surroundings, until settling on Sasuke, instantly it's face lit up, hugging Sasuke tightly.

_'It thinks I'm it's parent...'_ Sasuke felt the small pokemon nuzzling into his chest, the long horn on it's head prodding him continuously on the neck.

The Larvitar jumped off him and began running around, chiming happily about something. It sped around Sasuke's person, jumping into the air. However all of the sudden it stopped in it's movements and yawned loudly, it collapsed into a ball on the floor, sleeping soundly.

Sasuke moved towards it carefully, picking it up in his arms. "It's probably used up a lot of energy." He whispered, looking down at the Larvitar. He pulled at a spare pokeball and tapped it gently onto the Larvitar, a red beam sucked Larvitar into the ball, encasing it inside. "There rest inside there for a while. We'll find out what you want to do later when you're rested." Sasuke spoke to the ball, he would give the Larvitar the option of staying with him or leaving, but it couldn't answer when it was asleep.

Sasuke briefly looked around, there was no other way forward then the way he came, and that path had no other turns on it. _'Might as well return to the starting point and take an alternative route.'_ He thought to himself, looking to Houndour he nodded. His dog pokemon understood the message and began leading him back towards the entrance, grasping the pokeball holding his new Larvitar in his hand.

As they arrived at the entrance Sasuke found a familiar pink haired girl standing at the entrance of the cave, next to her was a small girl with blue hair, eyes reddened and puffy accompanied by occasional sniffling, the two girls were holding hands as they looked up at the light coming through the entrance.

"Sakura." He called out to the pink haired girl, who turned to look at him in surprise.

* * *

Sakura could hear the girl's cries become louder. '_That means I'm on the right path!_' She thought in victory, all she had to do now was find the girl.

And she wasn't hard to find, the girl had short blue hair and was curled into a ball in the corner of the dead end of the cave,her cries becoming ever increasingly loud. Sakura approached her slowly, tapping her on the shoulder. The girl's head shot up in fear, but calmed at the presence of Sakura. "I'm here to help you get out of here." She smiled gently. The little girl's cries reduced to sniffles, she latched onto Sakura's neck in a hug.

"Bronzor!" Many metals plates hovered into the dead end of the cave, a steel blue in colour with yellow eyes peering at them.

_Bronzor, The Bronze Pokemon, Implements shaped like it were discovered in ancient tombs. It is unknown if they are related. X-ray photos were taken to check its body structure. Nothing appeared, however. _

"Hmph!" Sakura looked up in determination at the metal pokemon, she needed to get this little girl out of this cave, she couldn't afford to be slowed down by these pokemon. _'Bronzor are Steel/Psychic types, so my only logical choice is...'_

"Flareon!" Sakura threw here newly evolved pokemon's pokeball up in the air, Flareon appeared in a regal manner, shaking it's body and fluffing out the hair around it's neck.

Sakura quickly scanned her pokedex over her Flareon, trying to discover if it had any new techniques learned.

_Flareon's known moves:_

_Dig,_

_Tackle,_

_Quick Attack,_

_Ember, _

_Bite_

"Yes!" Sakura exclaimed happily, putting away her pokedex. "Flareon use Ember!" She commanded. Her Flareon nodded in response, but letting out a stream of fire at the Bronzor, engulfing them in flames quickly. The flames danced around the cave, Flareon stood in the middle spinning gracefully on the spot, controlling even the furthest away flames perfectly.

_'Such power, and elegance...'_ Sakura stared in wonder at her Flareon, how it easily defeated the many Bronzor without problem or interruption.

Flareon finished it's attack, looking up with a victorious smirk to Sakura. "Thank you, Flareon." Sakura smiled back. "Now will you be able to lead us back out, just follow the Sweet Scent."

Flareon nodded, taking a few sniffs of the air began walking back towards the entrance, Sakura took the girl by the hand and followed the Flareon back through the cave until the light breaking through though the small entrance made itself visible again.

And she wasn't the only one returning at that time. "Sakura." Sasuke's cool voice spoke out, she found Sasuke standing, Houndour at his feet and a pokeball in his hand. He looked down towards the small girl, who blushed at his stare. "So you found her? Well let's not waste any more time in this cave. We'll wait outside for Naruto."

* * *

"Hello!" His reply was only his own echoed, tutting Naruto continued along the path down the cave, trying to memorise every turn taken within it's walls. "If you can here me, answer please!" Still only his own voice replied to his call.

He heard a rustling behind him, whipping around Naruto found nothing, his eyes scanned across all that was lighten up by the fire. Near the bottom left corner a rock moved slightly, as if crouching behind another one.

_'What is it?'_ Naruto wondered, approaching it slowly, it had a fold pattern of three straight lines, and was a colour that did not blend in to the rest of the environment.

As he leaned closer the rock jumped out, smashing into his stomach like a cannonball, groaning in pain Naruto fell backwards, he heard a small cry and rustling of feet, looking he saw that the rock was in fact a little blue lizard, with small, digit-less arms.

"Bagon!" It shouted at Naruto angrily, punching it's fists forwards like a boxer, bouncing on the spot.

_Bagon, The Rock Head Pokemon, Bagon harbours a never-ending dream of one day soaring high among the clouds. As if trying to dispel its frustration over its inability to fly, this pokemon slams its hard head against huge rocks and shatters them into pebbles. _

_'I see, so this is a Bagon. I can't believe this, Bagon aren't native to Sinnoh at all.'_ Naruto stared at the small blue dragon in wonder. "But what are you doing so far within a cave?" He asked the small dragon.

"Bagon! Bag-Bag-Bagon-Bag!" The small lizard cried out, retelling it's story, it mimed areas of it for Naruto to understand, climb up a small rock in an attempt to fly and rolling along the ground, then looking at it's surroundings lost and confused.

"Hmm, so you were trying to fly off the cliff and you fell down the same hole we came through. You couldn't limb back up the wall to get back out, so you went into the cave hoping for another way out, then you got lost. Then to make matters worse you can't practise flying because you're completely sealed off from the clouds within this cave." Naruto understood surprisingly perfectly, before he beamed at the blue lizard. "Well! Follow me Bagon, I'll get you back out. It doesn't seem like the girl is down this road anyways." Naruto stood up. "Lead the way Luxio." He threw Luxio's pokeball, his dark blue cat pokemon appeared and began tracing the sweet scent back to the entrance.

Naruto followed behind Luxio, turning back to see Bagon hadn't moved, only continued to stare suspiciously at Naruto. "I'm not going to hurt you." Naruto smiled. "I'm trying to help, now follow me!" He didn't wait, he knew Bagon would follow him out.

Sure enough, the light patting of Bagon's feet sounded behind him, following every turn he made as they made their way towards the entrance.

"Ah, here we are!" Naruto exclaimed, looking at the hole to the outside world.

"Naruto? Is that you?" Sakura's voice called from outside.

"Yeah." Naruto replied bluntly, looking back up at the world outside the cave. How long did he take if Sakura was already finished?

"Well hurry up out, I found the girl and now me and Sasuke are waiting for you!" Sakura called down the hole.

"Okay, be up in a minute!" Naruto called back, before turning to Bagon, who was staring in wonder at the light of the sun outside. "Let's get you out." He offered his hand to Bagon, who took it, he gently lifting Bagon's small body up and towards the hole, which Bagon could now easily climb back through...

* * *

Sasuke and Sakura saw a little blue dragon instead of Naruto come through the hole, it was then quickly followed by the blond boy, who grunted and struggled as he squeezed back through the entrance.

"What's with the lizard?" Naruto saw a little girl with bright blue hair next to Sakura staring curiously at the Bagon,

"It was trapped inside the cave so I helped it out." He explained quickly and briefly, before turning around to the Bagon. "Well here we are, I hope your dream of flying comes true some day." He smiled at the small pokemon.

"Bag..." Bagon looked back up at Naruto sadly, before it's mind clicked, it rummaged around it's person quickly before presenting a blue scale to Naruto.

"A Dragon's Scale?" Naruto took it in gratitude. "Thanks Bagon, this will really come in handy one day!"

"Naruto, hurry up or we're gonna miss the Larvitar migration!" Sakura called back to the blond, they were already setting off to find a good view over the mountain.

"Right! Well take care, Bagon!" Naruto waved quickly at the small blue dragon before turning and running to catch up with Sasuke and Sakura, who had already began their ascent up the side of the mountain to reach higher ground.

"Bagon." Bagon watched as the blond ran away, waving it's digit-less hand slowly and sadly.

Naruto powered up the rock to reach Sasuke and Sakura, as he arrived on the platform they stood on he turned to face the direction they were looking in.

They weren't too late. Tiny mouths burrowed their way out of the mountain face, eating the earth and soil to escape, followed by small green bodies with a large horn on their heads. The baby Larvitar rubbed their eyes sorely, experiencing natural light of any kind for the first time. Each new Larvitar took it's turn to yawn loudly, their cute little yawns echoing through the mountain range.

The yawns were returned by incredibly roars of ferocity. Th earth shook in tremors as the massive Tyranitaar guardians appeared over the mountain, coming to greet the baby Larvitar it the world. Within a few minutes the Larvitar were out of the mountain and approaching the Tyranitaar, who led them away from the mountain range to who knows where in the world.

Suddenly it was over, the three young trainers stared at the sight still. How magical it was seeing so much new life coming into the world at the same time.

* * *

"Well if anything, today has been... interesting," Sasuke rolled out with a sigh, gently throwing and catching the pokeball holding his new Larvitar inside. "Even though we only watched the Larvitar hatch into the world, I feel as though I know so much more about them."

_'I thought that the next pokemon I would have captured would have been that Absol, but I haven't seen it in a while. Perhaps it has moved on?'_ Sasuke stopped throwing the ball as he thought about the red eyed pokemon, he had lost twice to that pokemon, if anything he wanted to meet it one last time so he could beat it.

"We're close to the entrance to Mt. Coronet that leads to Hearthome, we should be safely there within a few hours." Sakura gazed at the Poketch Map App on her wrist, it had recently been updated so the wearer can track exactly where about they are through a satellite signal and by putting in a destination, know how far away they were.

"Hey, excuse me!" They turned around collectively, behind them a boy came running, he was around their age with brown hair and a simple white shirt with black pants and black slip on shoes, a messenger bag hanging over his torso. He approached them quickly, stopping just in front of them. "Sorry to bother you, but can I ask one of you for a battle, I just won my Eterna City Badge, but I could do with a little more confidence before I challenge Fantina at Hearthome." He spoke in a well mannered, soft spoken tone, however his eyes possessed a fire of eagerness to battle.

"Sure I'll battle you!" Naruto was first to respond, eagerly anticipating a battle before his next gym challenge himself.

"Thanks, but perhaps some other time, I was actually hoping to challenge you," He pointed to Sasuke, giving a nod in his direction as well. "I saw you in Eterna with Itachi Uchiha of Akatsuki, you helped him in freeing the Communication Tower from that evil team, I figured you have to be strong to do that."

Sasuke smiled, someone else noticed him as well. "Sure I'll battle you." Sasuke smirked in confidence, another opportunity to test his strength.

"Thanks, my name's Kellin by the way." The boy introduced himself with a smile.

"And my name is Sasuke," Sasuke also introduced himself to him. "Let's move over there, there's more space."

"Hey, we were with Itachi too!" Naruto screamed in insult, pointing to himself and Sakura, he was completely ignored by the two soon to be combatants, Naruto mumbled under his breath before being dragged to the sidelines by Sakura.

"I think a three-on-three battle will do fine. The person to win two out of three is the victor." Kellin spoke with a smirk, bringing out a pokeball. "I made the challenge, so I'll bring out the first pokemon. Go Buizel!" He threw the pokeball, an orange pokemon, with a yellow sac around it's neck appeared, smirking confidently. Two tails behind it whipping around.

_Buizel, The Sea Weasel Pokemon, It swims by rotating its two tails like a screw. When it dives, its flotation sac collapses. _

_'I'll give my new Larvitar a rest today.'_ Smirking himself, putting his black pokedex away, Sasuke drew a new pokeball. _'I'm glad I brought this out of storage before I left Eterna.'_ He threw the pokeball forwards "Go, Cacnea!"

"I'll take the first move, Cacnea, use Absorb!" Sasuke instantly played to his advantages, using a Grass type move against a Water type. Cacnea breathed inwards, attempting to suck the life from the Buizel.

"Buizel, dodge and use Ice Punch!" Kellin shouted, Buizel complied, with high speed, it ran down the field, as if flashing from one side to behind Cacnea, it's hand formed a fist, and a thick layer of ice grew over it, Buizel's icy fist connected with Cacnea's body, launching it into the nearby rocks, and explosion erupted upon Cacnea's impact with the rocks, smashing it into smaller fragments. As the debris settled, Sasuke gritted his teeth in annoyance, the punch was enough to leave half of Cacnea's body in a sheet of ice, freezing it in place.

"Looks like you win the first round." Sasuke spoke, returning the frozen Cacnea to it's pokeball as Kellin returned Buizel aswell. Taking a new ball immediately he threw it upwards. "Go, Houndour!" Houndour fired onto the field, growling in readiness for the battle.

"A Houndour, luckily I have just the pokemon for this," Kellin smirked, getting a new pokeball himself. "Go, Monferno!"

The brown monkey appeared, a grin similar to Kellin's on it's face, the tail, tipped with a strong flame whipped behind it, changing the light at the front, an instant intimidation.

And Sasuke froze, as did Houndour, both staring wide eyed and mouth agape at the monkey pokemon, Sasuke's breath hitched in his throat, scraping away at the inside, a bead of sweat rolled down his face. "M-Monferno..."

* * *

**A/N:** So... how was that? Been roughly two months since I updated. I have a reason, I just hit a writer's block. A massive wall to be precise, something I just couldn't climb over. But these stories needed to be continued so I struggled at it, doing little portions at a time and here we are, probably one of my longer chapters in this fic.

Anyway this chapter was kind of filler, but it still pushed the plot forwards, made some character development hopefully on Sakura's part, I felt she needed some better screen time, and she will continue to get more in the oncoming chapters.

Sasuke having a Larvitar, yeah that's gonna happen.

Now the ending might have confused a few people, Kellin was just an OC, the name was inspired by a band whose new album I have been literally playing 24hours a day since it came out. He won't be a major character, but I feel it's quite rude to come up and ask someone for something with giving a proper introduction, good manners and all that jazz.

Anyway Sasuke's response to Monferno is the reason he won't have a Chimchar and Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke can't have a starter from a different region of each type each. I don't want Sasuke to have Chimchar nor do I want any of them to have Charmander. But his fear of Monferno isn't really a fear, more shock, Houndour was beaten up pretty badly by a Monferno, thus he's kind of associated danger to his pokemon with Monferno. If that makes sense.

Black and White were released in the span of time it took me to update, I won't be using 5th generation pokemon quickly, but I will be using a few of them, they won't be caught, but some will be given as gifts or used by well experienced trainers like Jiraiya and Orochimaru.

Recently I've been thinking about Nagato, you know how he is from the Uzumaki Clan in Canon. Well should I play on that, should I make him and Naruto related, perhaps brothers, one that ran away from home or no one likes talking about, or maybe uncle and nephew. I want Nagato, Yahiko and Konan to be young, younger than they were in Canon, because they had to be nearing their forties in Canon. Anyway, I've put a poll on my profile for you to answer, just yes or no, it will really help if you submit your answer.

To be continued in Chapter 14: The Strongest Trainer In The World...

Til Next Time,

Rinne-Kami, Out!


	15. The Strongest Trainer In The World Is

Sasuke had frozen up at the sight of the monkey pokemon, the very same one that had been haunted his dreams for the past few nights. What that pokemon did to Houndour was unforgivable, but in the face of it, facing his rage and fear at the same time, Sasuke found it hard to breathe, a bead of sweat ran down his face, a chill ran down his spine.

Houndour however had passed freezing up, it snarled in rage at the brown monkey, smoke coming from the corners of it's mouth. Houndour roared loudly and ferociously, alarming and frightening everyone who was there to hear it.

Suddenly Houndour's body enveloped in a bright light white, it's size grew, two horns curled at the top of it;s head, it's tail thinned and stretched out, leaving it with a pointed tail. The light faded, revealing a larger version of Houndour, it continued to snarl and roar at the monkey pokemon, which stood at the opposite end of the field frightened.

"Houndoom..." Sasuke spoke quietly, yet a smirk grew on his face. He pulled out his black pokedex, scanning the new pokemon.

_Houndoom, The Dark Pokemon, Long ago, people imagined its eerie howls to be the call of the grim reaper. In a Houndoom pack, the one with its horns raked sharply towards the back serves a leadership role. These pokemon choose their leader by fighting amongst themselves._

"Excellent." Sasuke smirked, snapping his pokedex shut and putting it away. Finally he had a power house in his team. "Houndoom use bite!"

Houndoom roared loudly, spewing out a blast of flames, to everyone's surprise. The Monferno barely dodged them, leaping into the air, it was met by the jaws of Houndoom, not waiting for it's trainer's commands. It bit down hard onto the monkey pokemon, shaking it in it's jaws before throwing it into the closest wall.

Houndoom's assault didn't stop there, it rammed it's entire body into the smaller monkey pokemon, not giving it a moments notice. Monferno wailed loudly in pain as it's body was crushed in between the rocky wall and Houndoom's iron like horns.

Houndoom stood over Monferno's battered body, snarling wickedly. Suddenly a red light saved Monferno from any further torment. Kellin had returned it to it's ball. Houndoom snarled at the boy, but ran straight past him, barging into him and knocking him over as he did so.

"You need to control that thing, man!" Kellin scolded Sasuke angrily. "You see what it did to my Monferno! Why would you have such a wild and cruel pokemon on your team!"

"I'm going after Houndoom." Sasuke ignored Kellin's shouting, looking in the direction Houndoom was heading, heading back towards cyclists road. Sasuke took off, running after his starter pokemon.

"Sakura, you and Naruto wait here. This doesn't concern you, it's between me and Houndoom!" Sasuke called over his shoulder as he sprinted away, his eyes focused hard on the footprints Houndoom had left as it stormed away. _'I knew this day was coming, luckily I came prepared for something like this!'_

* * *

Sasuke chased after his grim dog pokemon, hoping down the small cliff and running through the small patch of grass. _'He's heading back to Oreburgh Mines!'_ Sasuke had realised where Houndoom was heading, he saw it in the distance, running through the town and towards the mines.

_'Is Houndoom looking for a challenge, and now is heading towards Oreburgh Mine because it's filled with Rock type pokemon, which are strong against fire?' _Sasuke deduced, he smirked in pride. _'A piece of the old Houndour is still there, he's remembered what we learned together. But will he remember what I said that day?'_

"Houndoom!" Sasuke called after his pokemon, he found it after running through the town, it had stopped just outside Oreburgh Mine, as if waiting for him to arrive. It looked over it's shoulder, before snarled at the raven haired trainer, Houndoom flipped around, crouching down as if ready to pounce on Sasuke.

"If defeating you in battle is the only way you will listen to me, then I have no choice!" Sasuke yelled, pulling out a new pokeball. "Go Murkrow!" He tossed the pokeball high, Murkrow came into battle high in the sky. "Murkrow use peck!" Sasuke commanded loudly. Murkrow obeyed, drilling down from the sky beak first at Houndoom.

Houndoom responded by launching a jet of fire at Murkrow, engulfing it's entire body in powerful flames. Murkrow's body dropped to the floor before it could complete it's attack, it's body too badly burned for it too move.

Sasuke grunted in annoyance, returning Murkrow to it's ball for a rest. "I should have guessed, I'll have to do this myself!" Sasuke said before letting out a loud cry, he ran towards Houndoom, trying to grab onto it and hold it down.

Houndoom jumped out of the way easily, before spewing another stream of flames at Sasuke. Sasuke dived out of the way, dirt covering his clothes as he rolled across the floor.

Houndoom snarled beastly at Sasuke, who only laughed cockily in return, staring down the beast right in the eyes. Houndoom charged forwards again, Sasuke side stepped it, and wrapped his arms around the pokemon's neck, pulling it to the floor, he held it in position, Houndoom constantly trying to escape.

"Houndoom listen to me!" Sasuke shouted loudly. "I'm sorry!" He shouted even louder, pain filling his voice, it seemed enough to calm the beast down enough to listen to him. "That day, at Eterna Telecommunications Tower, it was only my fault! My petty pride and jealously over how strong my brother was got us into that situation! I ran in without thinking about it logically! I rushed in yet you were the one who ended up being hurt! It was all my fault! I'll do anything to get your forgiveness, but you can't act like this!"

_**-Flashback-Break-**_

Sasuke casually walked through the front door of his house, he knew no one was going to be in. His mom and dad were away at work and his brother had set off on a journey again a couple of weeks ago, so there was no one to welcome him home after a long day at Sarutobi's Academy. The academy wasn't hard, they started with a basic quiz asking for types advantages and disadvantages, then further detail into the history of pokemon and the Sinnoh region, and they ended the day with their usual practise battles. He had pulled an Elekid to battle against Naruto's Smoochum, he won quite easily to Naruto's annoyance.

Sasuke walked further into his house after taking off his shoes, dumping his bag behind the couch so it was out of the way he moved to the kitchen, planning to get a drink of water.

However he found on the breakfast table in the kitchen there was a shiny red pokeball, looking as it had been recently cleaned, next to it was a small note. Sasuke picked the ball and note up, reading the note inquisitively.

_'For Sasuke...'_

That was the only message left on the note, Sasuke looked towards the ball, a small smirk grew on his face. His first pokemon. "Go." H opened the ball, in a bright light a small black dog pokemon appeared, with a red underbelly and skeleton patterns of armour across it's fur.

"Houndour!" It barked happily, bouncing around on it's pours, continued it's high pitched barking, it was obvious to Sasuke it was a new born Houndour, the energy ot possessed was outstanding.

"Ow!" Sasuke yelped himself, the dog pokemon had playfully bit onto his hand, though digging it's teeth in slightly to far. It looked up to him with a childish grin around his hand, wagging it's tail rapidly.

"Stop." Sasuke yanked his hand out of the pokemon's mouth, the Houndour whined sadly, sitting down on the table. "If you are to be my pokemon, there will be none of this baby nonsense. You will have to be serious and strong if you want to be my pokemon partner..."

* * *

Houndoom began struggling again, stronger than before. Sasuke could no longer hold the dog shaped pokemon down. Houndoom ripped itself free from Sasuke's grasp, leaping across the field before turning to stare at Sasuke angrily.

Without warning it charged towards Sasuke, baring it's teeth angrily. Sasuke threw up his hands in defence to cover his face, expecting the flesh ripping bite any second.

But that bite never came, only a small nibble on his hand. Sasuke curiously looked, Houndoom hand biting gently onto Sasuke's hand, breathing heavily. It's tail suddenly began to start wagging, it wagged slowly, not as fast as it did with Houndour, but it wagged nonetheless.

Sasuke recognised the position, it was the way they were when they first met. A smile grew across his face, not a usual cocky or judgemental smirk, but a genuine smile. Accompanied by a tear rolling down his cheek.

Sasuke laughed once quietly. "Stop." He choked out tearfully, yet happiness could be heard in his voice. "If you are to be my pokemon, there will be none of this baby nonsense, you have to be serious and strong if you want to be my pokemon." He repeated those very same words he uttered that day, how stupid they sounded now.

Houndoom let go of Sasuke's hand, pushing him on to his back before licking Sasuke's face gently. Sasuke laughed in return. "Houndoom. I'm sorry it took me so long to ask for your forgiveness from that day." He smiled happily, hugging his pokemon partner, the first time he had ever done that as well.

* * *

"There you are, Sasuke! We were starting to get worried!" Naruto ran over to the raven haired boy, who was clutching his pokeball in his hand, Houndoom was walking next to him at an easy pace.

"And how are you, Houndoom?" Naruto grinned at the large black dog which stood proudly at Sasuke's side. Houndoom's response was a similar smirk it always pulled, one identical to his master.

Sasuke smiled at Houndoom one more time, before returning it to the pokeball in his hand. He looked at the pokeball for a few moments, glad things with Houndoom had straightened out.

"What's the matter, Sasuke-kun?" Sakura caught up to the two of them, asking Sasuke curiously. Noticing that he had been staring at the pokeball in his hand for some time.

"Nothing. Everything's fine." Sasuke's answer was soft, almost whisper quiet as he continued to stare at the pokeball containing his Houndoom in his hand. "To Hearthome." He suggested to Naruto and Sakura's approval.

Suddenly the ground began rumbling, looking in the direction of the cause they found hundreds of people charging towards them, flocking down the small passageway that led to Hearthome.

Naruto pushed Sasuke and Sakura to the side, standing up on the rocks to avoid being trampled by the charging crowd. "What the hell is going on? You could have killed us!" Naruto screamed at the crowd, he went either unheard over the noise or ignored due to the rush to get to Hearthome.

"Haven't you heard?" One man shouted back from the crowd as they congested the small cave entrance to get to Hearthome. "The reclusive leader of Akatsuki is giving his first ever interview at Hearthome, everyone from around Sinnoh and the world are flocking to Hearthome in order to get a glimpse at perhaps the strongest trainer in the world!" The man finished, suddenly people burst through the cave entrance flooding in like water. "I'm sorry! But I've wasted far too much time here!" The man apologised as the crowd set off again, moving through the cave and into Hearthome.

The trio of trainers on the rocks only stared in fascination at the cave entrance. "T-The leader of Akatsuki?" Sakura spoke in utter astonishment. "Thinking about how strong Itachi-san is, imagine the strength of this guy. He must be at least on par if not a little lower than the Champion of the World."

"Well then let's go see him!" Naruto spoke rather enthusiastically. "Be good to know the face of someone you intend to battle later huh Sasuke?"

"Naruto's right, we should at least try and attend his interview, me might learn some interesting stuff on Akatsuki, though I doubt he will mention anything about the Secret War." Sasuke replied, jumping down from the rocks and into the crowd, Naruto and Sakura followed quickly after, blending into the crowd as they made their way towards Hearthome.

* * *

**A/N:** Yo! Rinne here saying; "Well this chapter sucked!" Honestly, I just feel that it was too short. The only decent thing from this chapter is that Sasuke shows an emotional side and gets some character development, will this be the beginning of a new Sasuke, found out over the oncoming chapters.

So yeah, Pein is going to appear in the next chapter, which is going to be fun. Oh and the poll, through a unanimous decision, the public (that's you) have decided that Nagato and Naruto should be Uncle and Nephew, good choice, that's a lot easier to explain than why his other big brother hasn't been mentioned for 14 odd chapters.

As I said last chapter, I shall begin adding more Gen V pokemon, not too many, perhaps only the necessities and the ones I like the most. For example the dog pokemon, Herdier or whatever, if only to fill one extra slot in Kiba's Dog shaped speciality team. Anyways, only the most experienced trainers will have Gen V pokemon, such as Jiraiya, Orochimaru, Tsunade and some members of Akatsuki. Was team Plasma added in the secret war? I don't think it was, let me go check... no they're not, oh yeah i didn't add them because Unova's meant to be really far away, carrying on. I hope you all remember the secret war, cause it's about to get big, really big.

Speaking of that, I have been considering using the ol' time skip technique. If I do you will know I have done it, but it seems pretty important and I want Naruto and that to be older when the war is going on at the max, at the minute they are 12-13. I've been thinking of Naruto dropping his quest to become champion for a more important reason, again you will know it if I take that road.

Anyway, I've got the next two chapters ready to be typed up. So expect a continuation in Chapter 15: Pein and a further continuation in Chapter 16: Sasuke VS Shino, A Contest.

Until Next Time,

Rinne-Kami, Out!


	16. Pein

The gang hurried into Hearthome City, their faces fell when they saw the streets of the city. The streets were filled with chattering people, pushing and shoving into each other all eagerly anticipating the arrival of the Leader of Akatsuki.

"Wow, I've never seen this much buzz before..." Naruto looked around at the crowd of people, his eyes caught Sakura looking at him weirdly. "What?"

"Your dad's the Champion of the World, how could you not have seen this much buzz before?" Sakura asked, speaking as if she was pointing out the obvious.

"Naruto's father's face is known, yet the Leader of Akatsuki remains entirely a mystery," Sasuke cut in and answered for Naruto. "That's probably why there's so much buzz about it, everyone's waiting for the mystery to be solved."

"But where is the Akatsuki's leader's interview staged anyway?" Naruto asked, trying to change the subject as he looked around.

"I'm guessing it will be at the contest dome." Sasuke answered, he saw both Naruto and Sakura looking at him in confusion, he pointed straight ahead, Sakura and Naruto followed where Sasuke's finger pointed. Hordes of people all flocked in the same direction, heading uptown towards the gardens at the back. "Just follow the people, besides the Contest Dome has one of the largest floor spaces in Hearthome, perfect for an interview where thousands of viewers and reporters will be trying to get into."

"Good point. So let's hurry before we can't get in!" Naruto called, he himself running through the crowds towards the contest Dome, Sasuke and Sakura followed suit, following Naruto through back alleys and short cuts, anywhere that would keep them out of the sea of people and get the closer to the Contest Dome.

As they arrived in front of the dome they found the doors flooded with people, Naruto gulped loudly before stepping forwards, without surprise to Sasuke and Sakura, Naruto had instantly began screaming at the crowd, ordering them out his way. Sasuke and Sakura caught up behind Naruto, as he seemed to be making progress, pushing and shouting his way into the crowd and into the dome, eventually making his way right to the front of the crowd, where a wall of photographers blocked them from going any further.

They looked in front of the photographers and their flashing cameras. Behind a large table in the middle of the gaps left by the photographers and the video cameras sat a woman with blue hair, pinned up by an origami paper flower. Her face was calm and serene with her amber coloured eyes glowing through her heavy lidded pupils. A stud was pierced through the middle of her lower lip. Unlike the cloaks they had seen Zetsu and Itachi wear, hers was much more stylized. More close fitting and a cut on the leg, making it fit more like a dress. The long baggy sleeves were removed, replaced by a black cloth that hung over her shoulders and another black piece of cloth tied around her neck.

"She's really pretty..." Sakura sighed, looking up with idolizing eyes at the woman sat at the table. "Wait a minute, her cloak is more unique than Itachi's or that Zetsu's were, could she be the leader of Akatsuki?" Sakura suddenly pointed out.

Naruto looked up to the woman with wide eyes. "She might be, she seems to hold herself with a lot of confidence and power. And there's no sign of any one else."

Naruto almost leapt out his skin, when the woman's blank eyes darted over to him, fixating upon him for just a moment, before her eyes darted over to Sasuke, who handled her stare better than Naruto did.

The woman held up another Akatsuki cloak, again more stylized and unique compared to the others. This one was shorter in length, and not as loose fitting, yet the collar still rose high, probably covering the bottom half of whoever was going it wear it's face. Instead of a red streak down the front wear the cloak buttoned up, it was a grey silver streak, just as the woman had down her cloak/dress.

"The Leader of Akatsuki will be arriving shortly, he is sightseeing around Hearthome at the moment and wishes to do so undetected." The one spoke in a civil voice, very dulled and barely showing emotion at all. She placed the cloak back down next to her before crossing her arms and folding one leg over the other, content to sit in silence until the leader arrived.

"Let's go." Sasuke turned to Naruto and Sakura. "There's no point staying in this crowded room looking at nothing when we have no idea when this guy is gonna show up, we can always watch his interview later on TV."

"Sasuke's right, let's go." Naruto agreed, Sakura nodding afterwards. They began making their way back through the crowd, which was easier than entering, people seemed all too joyous to take their place and get closer. Naruto felt eyes on him, and turned to look around. The blue haired woman sat at the table was watching him leave, Naruto shuddering quickly, before carrying on his way outside.

* * *

"So what should we do now, my contest isn't until later tonight," Sakura asked the two boys she was travelling with as Naruto approached them. "Although, with all this going on, it might actually be postponed."

"How about we get either mine or Sasuke's gym battle out the way, maybe both if we have time." Naruto suggested looking over to the gym just to the left of the dome from where he was standing.

Sasuke nodded his head in agreement. "Good idea, our gym battles have been the last thing we do in the town before we leave, they also often take the longest, if we get them out the way now while everyone else is busy admiring the Akatsuki Leader. We will have more time to look around Hearthome, perhaps even leave earlier."

They all nodded in agreement, heading over to the church shaped gym. They found that the doors were locked and the lights were off. On the front of the door was a note, written on paper and just stuck to the door.

Naruto bent closer to actually read the writing on the small note. "Apologies, but the gym is closed for the moment. I, Fantina have gone to see the mysterious Leader of Akatsuki's first interview. Oh the excitement, oui?" Naruto repeated the contents of the note to Sakura and Sasuke, Sasuke loud sigh of annoyance was his reply, followed by an annoyed tut from Sakura. Naruto turned to both of them, shrugging his shoulders. "So what can we do other than wait to see the Leader of Akatsuki?"

"We could go check out Hearthome's Cathedral?" Sakura responded, Naruto's brow rose in reply, clearly not impressed by her suggestion. "The Cathedral holds a lot of heritage for the region, so it might be interesting. At the very least it will kill some time." Sakura explained further to the blond.

"We have nothing better to do, so we might as well check it out." Sasuke nodded to Sakura's suggestion, making his way towards the Cathedral before anything else could be said, Naruto and Sakura left after him, catching up and walking at his pace.

* * *

The trio of young trainers walked together through the busy streets of Hearthome, each person they passed chattering in some way, shape or form about the mysterious leader of Akatsuki, they couldn't help but talk about him themselves.

"So what do you guys think he looks like?" Sakura asked two the both of them, knowing each of them would probably have their own ideas. Even she had her own speculations. "I bet he's around his late thirties, early forties. Very experience in the world and sophisticated and smart."

Naruto's lips vibrated as he expelled air from his mouth, signifying a slight boredom with the topic. "He's probably just some old fart, that's why he's so smart enough to create an organisation like Akatsuki and keep a large scale war out of the public's ear."

"Really? Because I heard that the leader of Akatsuki is actually quite young." They all turned in surprise at the mystery voice, they had walked straight passed the man and hadn't realised his presence. "I apologise, but I couldn't help but overhear your conversation." The man smiled, which was kinda creepy due to the amount of piercings on his face. Two at the corners of his bottom lip, three bars going through the bridge of his nose and six rings in each ear with an extra bar going through his ear as well. The man's bright orange hair stood on edge in spikes similar to Naruto's, even his bright blue eyes match Naruto's, even if this man's were a shade or two lighter. He wore a simple white shirt and black pants, with a pair of black boots on his feet.

_'He looks quite scary with all those piercings, really dark looking...'_ Naruto and Sakura commented in their own minds, completely unaware the other was thinking the exact same thing.

"Although I've also heard that the leader of Akatsuki is not a man at all. The rumours go from believable to down right crazy. Some believe that the leader of Akatsuki is actually a pokemon, as only a pokemon could be so in peace with other pokemon and the land." The man chuckled lightly, his voice was surprisingly upbeat and happy despite his appearance. "The name's Yahiko by the way." He smiled towards all three of them.

"Name's Naruto Namikaze, how do you do!" Naruto beamed back instantly, it was always like Naruto, never showing hostility to those he met.

"I'm Sasuke Uchiha." Sasuke eyed the man up suspiciously, everyone here was talking about the leader of Akatsuki, why did he pinpoint them.

"And I'm Sakura Haruno." Sakura introduced herself lastly, the man, Yahiko nodded to each of them individually.

"Well anyway, I'm sorry to have bothered you. It's just that you three reminded me of the past, how me and my friends were. Plus you two look a lot like two other people I know..." Yahiko pointed two fingers towards Naruto and Sasuke, both of their eyes light in slight surprise. "Also I guess if you're taking this road am I right in assuming your going to see Hearthome's Cathedral?"

The trio nodded in return to Yahiko's question, the orange haired man sighed loudly, shaking his head. "I'm sorry to say that the Cathedral has been zoned off whilst it goes through reconstruction after Team Galactic's attack on it a few days ago." His voice gritted through his teeth, surprising them with the irritation over the matter held within his voice.

"Although..." He exhaled, suddenly his cheerful persona had returned, he grinned widely at the three of them. "It's pretty impressive that a 12 year old boy defeated one of Galactic's Commanders all by himself, saving the Cathedral and maybe the whole of Hearthome from even more damage by stalling Team Galactic until the authorities arrived."

"That was Shino Aburame, we know him. We went to the academy with him. He uses Bug Pokemon exclusively, and he was always a really good trainer in the academy." Naruto explained in the smallest of detail, he expected that the news would have spread fast, so now Shino was suddenly famous.

"Naruto." Sasuke's voice Naruto from saying anything further, he gestured Naruto closer with his hand, until Naruto was close enough to whisper to him quietly. "Don't tell this guy too much about us or others, we know next to nothing about him, who knows what he could do."

"Shino Aburame, a Bug Type user you say..." Yahiko rubbed his chin contemplatively before smiling again. "Well you should be proud to know someone like that. A trainer with such talent at a young age will go on to do amazing things. Perhaps he will become a Kage in the future, maybe even Champion of the World?" Yahiko chuckled, before catching a glimpse at his Poketch, his eyes widened in shock. "Damn, I'm really late! Excuse me, I've really got to go!" Yahiko didn't wait for a reply back, he took off running down the streets away from where everyone else was heading, hopefully to get out of the crowds.

The trio of young trainers watched the orange haired man run away, each of them holding the same thought in their minds. "He was the definition of not to judge a book by it's cover." Sakura expressed the thought aloud, Sasuke and Naruto nodding in agreement.

"Yeah, who looked really dark and scary what with the piercings and stepping out of nowhere from the shadows, but actually he was a pretty friendly, cheerful, happy guy." Naruto added, grinning himself towards Sasuke and Sakura. "Well, Yahiko said that the Cathedral is off limits, so what do you guys want to do now?"

"Seems that the whole city has stopped while the Leader of Akatsuki is here, I guess we have now choice? Shall we see if we can see the leader of Akatsuki now?" Sasuke asked. "If not, I say we just get out of the streets, it's becoming too crowded for-"

"HE'S HERE!" A high pitched fan girlish scream was heard, cutting off Sasuke's voice, they looked towards the source of the noise. The contest dome, where people from all over Hearthome City where flocking too. "THE LEADER OF AKATSUKI HAS ARRIVED!" Flashes from cameras suddenly began lighting that corner of the city. The three younger trainers looked at each other before setting off in the direction of the Dome, speeding through the streets in order to get a look at the Leader of Akatsuki.

* * *

Naruto panted heavily after pushing his way back through the crowd to the front, Sasuke and Sakura following closely behind him. "Guess you do have your uses after all." Sasuke gave off a light chuckle, a joking smirk present on his face.

"Shut it...Sasuke..." Naruto wheezed out, the crowd fought back hard this time, he barely had enough strength to squeeze to the front.

"My name is Konan." The blue haired woman at the table spoke in response to a question, finally revealing her name. "And in response to your question, I am ranked at number two out of ten in the hierarchy of Akatsuki, our leader is at the top at number one."

The trio of trainer's eyes widened, as did the rest of the audiences. _'She's the second in command in Akatsuki, possibly the second strongest trainer in the group!'_

"Excuse me, Miss Konan!" A reporter called out above the mutterings and mumblings. "Perhaps you could give us a more detailed explanation as to how Akatsuki came to be?"

"Akatsuki began on a belief of our leader. That people did not have enough dreams and goals in the world, that people were beginning to lack the drive to succeed and accomplish. The world was becoming accustomed to a sedentary lifestyle where things were simple and straightforward and easy. People didn't do much because things came too easy and without much hassle. So the Leader and his two friends, one of them was me created Akatsuki, unlike gyms where you could find the gym and the leader within and battle. In order to battle an Akatsuki member for their symbol, trainers must first find them, roaming the continent, searching high and low for the opportunity to battle the most elite trainers in the world, and getting the greatest rewards in return." Konan explained, her voice never showing the slightest emotion as she told the story.

"You say that Akatsuki is made up of the most elite trainers in the world, but what about the Champion of the World; Minato Namikaze, or the Sannin; Orochimaru, Jiraiya and Tsunade?" A different reporter asked, preparing to write down whatever the blue haired woman said on a notepad.

"The Leader didn't want any of Akatsuki's members to be tied down by other titles. Minato Namikaze is, as you say, the Champion of the World. And the Sannin, Orochimaru, Jiraiya and Tsunade hand out the Hebi, Gama and Namekuji Kunshou respectively. We had planned to offer Minato a place, but that would mean he would have to retire as Champion of the World. We also had the alternative plan of asking his son, Volkner Namikaze to join Akatsuki. But he has recently taking up the role as Gym Leader at Sunyshore Gym, so that option is now obsolete." Konan replied explicatively.

Naruto eyes went wide at the last part, Sakura and Sasuke looked towards him in surprise. "Your brother's now the leader at Sunyshore Gym?" Sakura asked, as if insulted Naruto held the information from them.

"I didn't know, I mean I heard from Gardenia that my grandfather had retired, but I had no idea that it was Volkner that took his place." Naruto replied honestly, his eyes still wide in surprise.

"Konan, Konan!" Another reporter called out, hoping to ask the blue haired woman a question. "Perhaps you could tell us some more about Akatsuki's current members?"

"Any further questions will be taken and answered by the Leader of Akatsuki." The woman's sentence silenced the crowd, a small smirk grew on her face. "He is ready." Her eyes shifted towards the door behind her to her left.

The door slid open slowly, and the crowd went silent. Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke gaped even more than the rest of the crowd when the Leader stepped out of the shadows into the light. The dome remained quiet as he moved up the stairs, each one of his steps echoing through the filled room. He walked up to the sitting Konan, who held the stylized cloak she had earlier up to him. He took it, fastening it on himself. The cloak remained shorter than the other members, fitting more like a jumper, the sleeves were also shorter and tighter, revealing his hands. Yet the collar still covered the lower half of his face. The man turned towards the crowd and stared out into the sea of shocked faces, his eyes devoid of emotion, they were calm, but serious.

"He's just as cool as I imagined he'd be!" One small boy could no longer contain himself, he screamed his words loudly with excitement.

"Thank you, Konan for keeping this crowd entertained." Even his voice was cold, calm and apathetic. "My name is Yahiko, and I am the Leader of Akatsuki."

* * *

**A/N:** Yo! Rinne here, well a big revelation has happened. The Leader of Akatsuki has revealed himself to the world after spending so long in the shadows. Why has he done this? Who knows. Not even I know, and I am writing the story. I wanted it to be something to do with the Secret War, but just can't think of a logical reason, oh well I have another reason why he is in Hearthome. Which will be revealed next chapter.

So anyways how was the chapter? A little shorter than usual but not as short as last time. Anyways, you, the readers will get the opprtunity to play an interactive role in the next chapter. What questions would you like the crowd to ask Yahiko? Basically, you are the crowd! Leave a question in a review or a PM and I shall try to answer it, in fic, as Pein-ily as possible.

I'm working on A Complete Family, Incomplete's new chapter, the next chapter of that and the reviews it gets will probably make or break my decision for discontinuing it, and I'm working on Becoming The Legend, which I'm not discontinuing, but thats hella hard to write.

Oh before I forget, Kunshou means decoration, award or medal in Japanese, these aree what the Sanin hand out for defeating them. Hebi Kunshou (Snake Award), Gama Kunshou (Toad Award) and Namekuji Kunshou (Slug Award).

Anyways, Until Next Time,

Rinne-Kami, Out!


	17. Sasuke VS Shino, A Contest

"Excuse me, excuse me, Yahiko!" He was instantly bombarded with a series of questions from all the reporters, all eagerly awaiting for their change to gauge away at the mystery that is the Leader of Akatsuki.

Yahiko nodded to one reporter, silencing the rest. "Yahiko, I was wonder if you could tell us more about yourself, such as your age, your home region, your home town, your past?"

"I am 27 years of age." Yahiko stated to the surprised gasps of the audience, they hadn't expected him to be so young. "And as for my past, that is no longer my concern. I look only towards the future with peace and prosperity in mind."

"And what is this peace you envision?" Another reporter quickly called out, standing up so Yahiko would know who to address his answer to.

"I see a world without fighting, without war. That is my dream. Not for the sake of man, but for the sake of pokemon. True, pokemon naturally fight, they have their tendencies when wild, battling comes as a second life to them. But why must they be drawn into the fights between humans. To be used as weapons to get the advantage of enemies then discarded as soon as they are deemed useless or expired. That type of barbarism and cruelty can not be stand for, I urge you not to take that route. Care for your pokemon friends." Yahiko stated, his emotionless visage breaking for a moment for his face to produce a frown of anger.

"Hello, I am Getsuga and I work for Final Black magazine, dealing with new discoveries and mysteries of the pokemon world." A reporter stood, briefly introducing himself. "I was wondering if you could tell us a little more about Akatsuki itself? There are ten members of Akatsuki, and you claim them to be the most elite trainers, but what happens if one of them is defeated, are they replaced by the trainer who defeated them, or does they remain at their station like a Gym Leader?"

"That is up to the trainer that defeats the Akatsuki member." Yahiko replied mysteriously. "The trainer is offered the chance to replace the Akatsuki member they have defeated, or they are given the chance to walk away and continue collecting the other nine symbols. I know of only two trainers that took the second option. Might Guy and Kakashi Hatake, they have both defeated an Akatsuki member each, yet chose to not take the position of an Akatsuki member."

"And how long has Akatsuki been active?" A different reporter asked curiously.

"Six years." Yahiko replied bluntly. Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura could only stare at the new side of himself that Yahiko was showing, it was completely different from the one he displayed earlier. Gone was the cheeriness and happiness, now he spoke like an emotionless leader, caring, yet stern.

"Yes, I work for the blog site B.O.L.T." Another reporter spoke up. "I have a question about the Akatsuki members. Who are they?"

"Akatsuki members are among the best trainers, found from across the entire continent. We researched exactly who we wanted to fill our roster of trainers. Including myself and my two friends that helped found Akatsuki. There is Itachi from Twinleaf Town in Sinnoh. Zetsu from Fortree City in Hoenn. Hidan from Knot Island, off the shores from Kanto. Sasori from Saffron City in Kanto. Kisame from Pacifidlog Town in Hoenn. Kakuzu from Goldenrod City in Johto. And Deidara from Blackthorn City in Johto." Yahiko gave the names of all the Akatsuki members, giving every trainer hoping to find them even the smallest hint.

"Anything else you can say about them? Their ages, the personalities, likes and dislikes. If they have a specific pokemon preference?" The reporter who asked the earlier question spoke up again, eliciting groans of annoyance and jealousy from the other reporters.

"Akatsuki members ages range from fifteen to thirty two. Only a couple of them have specific type preferences, and are most skilled with using them. I can't say much about their personalities or likes and dislikes, you'll have to find that out by finding them." Yahiko spoke, not even smirking at his own comment.

"Konan mentioned that she was ranked number 2 in Akatsuki. Does that mean that she is the second strongest member in Akatsuki?" Another report shot up, asking his question quickly.

"Each member is powerful in their own right. The ranking hierarchy is simply used as a means of preserving order within Akatsuki." Yahiko replied rather nonchalantly, looking out into the audience for the next question.

"Yeah I have a question!" Everyone turned to a small blond trainer with blue eyes, looking eerily familiar to someone they all knew. Even the Pink haired girl and black haired boy he was with looked surprised that he had spoke out. "Why was my big brother considered for a place in Akatsuki?" The boy asked, before his eyes widened in surprise, as if he hadn't realised what he had been saying he muttered out one quick "Oops.".

He never got his answer from Yahiko. "I knew he looked familiar, it's Naruto Namikaze, the Champion of the world's youngest son and younger brother to Volkner!" One reporter called out, all cameras focused off Yahiko for a second. Lights flashed at Naruto in every angle, blinding him and preventing him from moving. "Come on, Naruto. Let's get a picture of the Champion of the World's son with the Leader of Akatsuki. Like a master taking a pupil under his wing!" Reporters beckoned out for the shot.

"No!" Yahiko's voice silenced them. "A name means nothing, actions are what make people worth remembering. Look at myself, it was my best friend that carried the famous name. Yet here I stand as leader of Akatsuki. You didn't even know the names of the Akatsuki members, yet they are recognisable simply by the action of their clothing. However, saying that, they have performed well in Eterna, protecting it's tower with the Akatsuki member, Itachi." Yahiko smirked, his eyes shifting over to Sasuke for just a second. "There is however, a boy in the audience I would like to speak to. Shino Aburame! Reveal yourself, I know you are here, I sent an Akatsuki member to find you a few days ago."

The audience looked around in surprise, shocking even further when a boy with spiky brown hair and sunglasses began making his way through the crowd, calm and unafraid by the Leader of Akatsuki. A white trench coat covering his lower face. He climbed the steps onto the stage, where Yahiko turned to face him directly.

"This boy, when Team Galactic attacked Hearthome Cathedral but a few days ago, stood valiantly with his pokemon companions and friends. Protecting the Cathedral from what could have been total destruction, single handedly, he defeated one of Team Galactic's commanders. That strength and courage is something rare in the world we live in today. We can learn something from this boy, that the strength of compassion and understanding with others will overcome any evil, how strong bonds with pokemon will help overcome even the largest of obstacles. Perhaps there is a future place in Akatsuki for you." Yahiko smiled down at Shino, who looked up in a mild surprise.

The gasps of the audience masked a horrible sound, a snarl of rage and jealousy, coming from Sasuke Uchiha, he stared with contempt at Shino. Since when had the bug boy surpassed him and gained recognition from one of the strongest trainers in the world.

"I don't think a reward is necessary for your actions, but they are deserving of one." Yahiko spoke almost like a sage, yet maintained his calm, distant persona. "I have an understanding that you prefer Bug pokemon." Yahiko smiled, before pulled out three pokeballs, shrunken down to a more moveable size. "Inside these three pokeballs are pokemon from a far off continent, the continent across the great ocean from where we are, from a region called Unova, a place I recently visited. They are bug types, cross with other types. Type mixes you will have never seen before, I know they will come of use to you. These three pokemon represent each virtue you have shown, courage, strength and teamwork." Yahiko extended out his other hand. "I shall need your pokedex in order to calibrate it so it may record the data of these and all Unova pokemon."

Shino pulled out his moss green pokedex, placing it in Yahiko's hand while he took the three pokeballs. Placing them in his pocket, Yahiko swiftly fiddled with his pokedex, before it gave off an odd beeping pattern. Yahiko handed the pokedex back to Shino.

"Thank you." Shino nodded gratefully, taking the pokedex and placing it back in his pocket. "I will take good care of these pokemon, rest assured. But if you may excuse me, I have a journey to complete."

Yahiko beamed widely, something Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke realised was out of character with the one he was trying to display now. He ushered Shino away, Shino nodded again in appreciation before walking out of the stunned crowd.

Sasuke wasted no time, gritting his teeth in anger he barged his own way through the crowd. Naruto and Sakura, seeing him leaving follow suit after him. Leaving the interview to follow Sasuke away.

* * *

"Shino!" Sasuke called after the brown haired boy. He heard it, Shino stopped in his tracks, turning to face Sasuke.

"Sasuke!" Naruto and Sakura called behind, catching up to the two boys ahead. "Hey Shino, where's Kiba and Hinata? They waiting for you somewhere else?" Naruto panted out, greeting the boy and asking him questions.

"No, I am alone?" Shino responded in his usual stoic voice. "Why? Because Kiba and I have both one three badges, and Hinata has one two Ribbons, therefore we are allowed to break our team apart. So we did."

"You and Kiba left Hinata alone like that?" Sakura spoke in an almost scolding voice, she remembered Hinata from her time in the pokemon academy, she was shy, timid and very afraid of everything, she wouldn't be able to last in the world alone.

"You shouldn't underestimate her, Sakura." Shino responded, black glasses meeting emerald eyes. "It was her idea to break the group up. She wanted to become strong independently, so she doesn't need to rely on others to constantly breaker her fall for her. And I applaud her for coming to that decision herself."

"Shino, you said back at that tournament in Jublife that you expected a decent battle from me. But we never got the chance. Well now it is time, battle me now! Let us determine who is truly the strongest out of our class!" Sasuke went straight to his point, almost shouting at the bespectacled boy.

"I'm afraid I must decline." Shino spoke in a polite manner, bowing his head apologetically. "Why? Because I must return to Fuego Ironworks in hopes of finding a Metal Coat in order to perform a certain task."

"Well it looks like it's your lucky day." Sasuke smirked, fiddling around in his bag he pulled out a silver cylindrical object, it grasped Shino's attention entirely. "Because I've got a Metal Coat. Shikamaru gave me it when I traded a Stantler for a Magnemite. Battle me and win, and I will give it to you."

"Sasuke, don't do this." Naruto spoke out to his black haired teammate. "No good will come from this."

"Very well. I will accept you challenge, Sasuke." Shino replied, moving closer to the raven haired trainer. "State the rules of the battle."

"Five on five, trainer to win three battles first wins." Sasuke smirked, placing the Metal Coat back in his bag. He quickly fiddled around on his trainer belt. _'Shino's bug type. Murkrow, Misdreavus, Houndoom. They've all got at least one move that has the advantage against them.'_

"I'll start with Murkrow!" Sasuke gripped the pokeball and tossed it high in the air, on queue his black crow pokemon cawed loudly, flapping it's wings before landing in front of Sasuke.

"Vespiquen, battle." Shino spoke quietly, throwing his pokemon out. In a flashy display of light Shino's humanoid bee pokemon appeared. A large red gem on the centre her head, with a ballroom dress shaped hive around its abdomen with one horizontal black stripe and six openings at the bottom.

"So you're Combee evolved." Naruto stared at the majestic bee pokemon with awe, he, Sakura and Sasuke taking out their pokedexes.

_Vespiquen, The Beehive Pokemon, It raises grubs in the holes in its body. It secretes pheromones to control Combee. When endangered, grubs from its six-cell honeycomb strike back. There is only one in a colony. _

"Murkrow attack with Wing Attack!" Sasuke kicked things off quickly, Murkrow's wings glowed white with power, it flew quickly towards Vespiquen, striking it quickly and agilely flying away again

"Murkrow follow up with Peck!" The crow pokemon cawed in response, turning it's direction mid air and flying fast towards the bee pokemon.

"Vespiquen dodge and use Power Gem." Shino called calmly, Vespiquen nodded. With incredible speed in shifted out of range of Murkrow's attack. Before the gem on it's head flash red, red coloured rocks exploded out of it, colliding with Murkrow's small body. The rocks forced it into the ground, where it grunted and panted heavily.

"What's going on? Murkrow's even more tired than usual?" Sasuke replied, usually Murkrow was fine after delivering two attacks and receiving one, but now it looked exhausted.

"That is Vespiquen's ability, Pressure. It causes opposing pokemon to use twice as much energy as usual." Shino stoically replied. "Vespiquen, follow up with Gust."

Vespiquen spun wildly, flapping it's wings, it suddenly stopped, launching the massive blast of wind at Murkrow.

"Murkrow, use the gust of wind to get airbourne again!" Sasuke commanded. Murkrow jumped slightly, catching the gust and was blown up into the air. "Now follow with another Wing Attack!"

Murkrow performed another u-turn in the air, swiping it's wings powerfully against Vespiquen's body again.

"Vespiquen use Heal Order to recover." Shino commanded, Vespiquen began a beating, vibrating cry. Tiny grubs flew out of the holes in it's hives, flying around Vespiquen and sprinkling a green, glittery dust. All the injuries and marks received by Murkrow's attacks began fading away until Vespiquen looked good as new.

"Murkrow use Wing Attack!" Murkrow flew in again, slower than usual but still willing to comply to Sasuke's commands, it was exhausted, but it would give up. Murkrow let out a loud cry before zooming towards the healed Vespiquen.

"Vespiquen another Power Gem." The red rocks from Vespiquen's gem appeared again, being fired up at the descending Murkrow. The rocks collided with Murkrow in the air. Murkrow could take no more, it plummeted towards the ground in exhaustion, it had fainted. Saved from the fall by Sasuke returning it to it's ball.

"I have Aaron to thank for the strength of my Bug Pokemon." Shino commented, returning Vespiquen to it's ball. The training he had received from the forefront of the Bug training community had really paid off.

"You're speaking as if you've won. We've got more battles to come!" Sasuke near shouted in annoyance, reaching for a new pokeball. "Go Larvitar!" Larvitar appeared, ready to finally prove itself to its trainer, despite being so young.

"Anorith." Shino calmly threw a new pokeball. A green and black shrimp shaped pokemon appeared, with two claws and two large eyes sticking out of the sides of it's head. Eight white feather like appendages stuck out it's body, the tips were a red colour and had a fin on it's back. Once again the trio of trainers reached for their pokedexes.

_Anorith, The Old Shrimp Pokemon, Anorith was regenerated from a prehistoric fossil. This primitive pokemon once lived in warms seas. It grips its prey firmly between its two large claws, with eight wings at the sides of its body. This pokemon swam in the primordial sea by undulating these eight wings. _

"A fossil pokemon? How did you get one of those?" Sakura asked curiously, looking at the shrimp pokemon with interest.

"During our stop at Eterna whilst I was hunting for Scyther I volunteered for an expedition with the Underground Man, I found a Claw Fossil lodged in the ground. We went back through Floaroma to Oreburgh because Hinata was searching for a pokemon. I had the fossil restored into Anorith." Shino replied in his usual matter of fact tone.

"Anorith start with Metal Claw." Shino started the second round. Anorith's claws shone in a metal hue, making the sound of tapping against steel. It scurried towards Larvitar with impressive speed.

"Larvitar dodge and use bite!" Sasuke commanded, Larvitar jumped over the scurrying Anorith and landed comfortably, quickly turning it latched it's jaws into Anorith's tail. Flailing it about wildly in it's mouth before throwing it across the field.

Larvitar suddenly rushed towards Anorith as it landed, thrusting it's body into the shrimp pokemon, knocking it even further away.

_'Larvitar is surprisingly adept at battling, despite this being it's first one. Excellent.'_ Sasuke smirked as he watched his small green pokemon grin victoriously, clearing a distance between itself and the shrimp pokemon.

"Larvitar now use Leer!" Larvitar lowered it's held for intimidation a flash a dark sinister grin. It frightened the Anorith somewhat.

"Larvitar attack with Bite again!" Sasuke suddenly commanded, Larvitar rushed forwards. It's jaws set apart ready to chomp down on the shrimp pokemon.

"Anorith protect." Shino commanded. Anorith curled up, a barrier formed around it's body. When Larvitar collided with the barrier it bounced straight back off, rolling across the street to a stop.

"Now Anorith use Metal Claw." Anorith scurried to Larvitar again, this time slashing away at it with it's steel powered claws. Larvitar didn't take the super effective hit well. It flew backwards, landing on it's back, grumbling out weakly.

"Finish with Water Gun, Anorith." Shino spoke as calmly as ever. Anorith shot a bullet of water at

Larvitar, knocking it back with the torrent of water. Larvitar, still being young couldn't take anymore hits. It fainted as Murkrow did earlier.

Sasuke quickly returned Larvitar to the pokeball, swiftly taking out his next pokemon before Shino had a chance to return Anorith. "Houndoom!" Sasuke threw the pokeball with force. Houndoom appeared giving off a loud fearsome roar.

"It is time dear friend." Shino spoke quietly to a pokeball. "Go Heracross." He threw the pokeball high, on queue a large, blue, winged bipedal beetle appeared. It has a capsule-shaped thorax, a pair of yellow eyes and two clawed arms and feet. Growing from its head is a large T-shaped horn, which is flanked on either side by a smaller antenna. Over it's left eye was a large scar, running from the left smaller antenna down past its mouth.

_Heracross, The Single Horn Pokemon, Usually docile, they gather in forests seeking the sweet sap of trees. It is completely clad in a steel-hard shell. It is proud of its horn, which it uses to fling foes. _

This Heracross looked anything but docile. It appeared ready for another fight, and judging by the scar on it's face. It had done so a lot. Its eyes seemed to be constantly frowning, constantly serious and ready for anything.

"This Heracross saved my life when I was younger. When I finally became a trainer. I made sure I would make it my partner. I vowed to make every Bug pokemon I met just as strong as he is." Shino spoke with a surprisingly small amount of emotion, something that had remained unheard of from the mysterious boy.

"I didn't ask for your life story, I asked for a battle! Houndoom start with howl!" Sasuke yelled, Houndoom began howling loudly, all of it's muscles tensed and expanding with it. Strengthening itself in anticipation for the fight.

"Heracross, Aerial Ace." Seconds after Shino uttered the command the beetle pokemon was in front of Houndoom, swing it's clawed arm down upon him. The slashed knocked Houndoom away, however Houndoom recovered well in the air, landing on his feet.

"Heracross, follow Focus Blast." Shino commanded, not as quick as last time but quick enough Heracross began moving towards the grim dog pokemon.

"Houndoom use Smog to evade!" Sasuke yelled, e couldn't let Houndoom be hit with a Fighting Type move. Houndoom spewed out a black fog, engulfing Heracross in it. "Now follow up with Ember!" The dog pokemon roared a stream of fire into the smoke. Heracross' cry of pain could be heard through the smog. As it died down, Heracross stood on one knee, dirt and burns covering its body.

"Heracross, recover and use Brick Break." Shino commanded, Heracross nodded in return. Getting back to it's feet swiftly and charging over to Houndoom, clenching its teeth to ignore the pain of it's burns. It got to close enough range fast enough and hammered it's arm down ontto Houndoom's body, blowing it into the ground below.

"Houndoom use Bite now!" Houndoom quickly bit down onto Heracross' leg, the closer part of its body to him. Its teeth dug in well against the steel like shell.

"Heracross, Endure." A blue veil began surrounding Heracross, it didn't stop the attack, but it seemed to subsidise the pain. "Follow with another Brick Break."

"Houndoom, get out of there and use Flamethrower!" Houndoom turned it's body, kicking Heracross back with it's hind legs. Houndoom jumped high into the air before launching a powerful roar of fire towards the blue beetle, engulfing it in flames.

"Heracross use Night Slash." Shino ordered the blue beetle. Heracross suddenly sprung out of the flames, the blue aura still covered its body. Heracross' clawed arm turned black in colour as it sprung towards Houndoom.

"Houndoom Flamethrower quick!" Sasuke shouted in a panic, Houndoom launch another searing stream of flames, this time at near point blank range. Heracross fought through the flames, swiping at Houndoom with it's blackened claws. The claws swiped across Houndoom's head, knocking it head first towards the ground.

"Heracross, finish with Focus Blast." Shino commanded. Heracross closed it's eyes in concentration, before thrusting it's hand forwards, an invisible force followed suit of it's hand. Striking Houndoom with such force it flew down the street where the where battling, crashing into the ground until it rolled to a stop.

"Get up Houndoom!" Sasuke shouted at his dog shaped pokemon, the batter Houndoom attempted to respond to it's masters call, struggling to raise it's beaten body off the ground, but it could no longer muster the strength to do so. It allowed itself to drop back to the floor, swirly eyes indicating it was just too exhausted to continue.

"I've won Sasuke, this battle is over." Shino responded stoically to the sight of the fainted Houndoom, Heracross didn't look far off fainting itself, it put up a splendid fight, as did Houndoom.

Sasuke growled, returning his unconscious Houndoom to its ball. He quickly grabbed another one. "This battle is over when I've got no more pokemon left. I've still got two more!" Sasuke roared, throwing the pokemon high in the air. "Misdreavus, go!"

"Very well, if you wish to continue, so will I. But I will not hold back." Shino responded, returning an exhausted Heracross to it's ball before taking a new one. "Go, Scyther." On demand Shino's mantis pokemon appeared, clanging it's two scythes together.

"Begin with Ominous Wind, Scyther." Shino spoke first. Scyther launched a powerful, purple gust of wind at Misdreavus, hitting it dead on to great affect.

"Follow with a Wing Attack." Shino moved Scyther to attack again before Misdreavus even had a chance to recover. Scyther moved in with it's wings spread wide, colliding them with Misdreavus' small body. Scyther quickly ran past Misdreavus before stopping instantly and turning, rocketing back and striking Misdreavus again with a second Wing Attack.

Misdreavus took both the hits hard, she wobbled uneasily in the air. Scyther was just far too strong for her too handle. "Scyther, end this with one more Ominous Wind." Scyther blasted another wave of dreadful, purple wind at Misdreavus, inflicting critical damage on the ghost pokemon and forcing it into unconsciousness.

Sasuke yelled out in annoyance. Four. He had gone through four of the five pokemon he was carrying with him and he had not one one battle against Shino. Just how far ahead was Shino from him? He returned Misdreavus before taking the final pokemon out. A pokemon that had not won one battle with him yet. "Cacnea!" He threw the pokemon with the little green cactus pokemon appearing ready for another fight.

Shino himself rustled for a pokeball, he pulled out three. The ones he had received from Yahiko. Bug pokemon with type mixes he had never seen before. He pulled out his moss green pokedex, scanning it over each individual pokeball.

_Name: Joltik_  
_Species: The Attaching Pokemon_  
_Description: They attach themselves to large-bodied pokemon and absorb static electricity, which they store in an electric pouch._  
_Type: Bug/Electric_  
_Ability: Compound Eyes_  
_Current known moves: String Shot, Thunder Wave, Electroweb, Bug Bite_

_Name: Larvesta_  
_Species: The Torch Pokemon_  
_Description: This pokemon was believed to have been born from the sun. When it evolves, its entire body is engulfed in flames._  
_Type: Bug/Fire_  
_Ability: Flame Body_  
_Current known moves: String Shot, Ember, Leech Life, Take Down_

_Name: Venipede_  
_Species: The Centipede Pokemon_  
_Description: It discovers what is going on around it by using the feelers on its head and tail. It is brutally aggressive._  
_Type: Bug/Poison_  
_Ability: Poison Point_  
_Current known moves: Rollout, Poison Sting, Pursuit, Protect, Poison Tail_

Shino picked the second pokeball. "Go, Larvesta." He tossed the pokeball high, a tan, larva Pokemon with white fur covering most of its upper body and head appeared in a bright light, five red, cork screw-like horns appeared from its head. Underneath the white fur, its head is black, as well as its six legs, with light blue eyes shining through the white fur.

"What is that? I've never seen anything like it." Naruto marvelled at the bug pokemon, gawking almost.

"A Larvesta, one of my gifts from the Leader of Akatsuki from the Unova region. According to my pokedex, it is a Bug/Fire type." Shino replied, equally almost gawking at the pokemon.

_'Damn, he purposely picked that knowing it would give him the advantage over Cacnea. But I can't help but wonder, what were the other two pokemon he received form Yahiko?'_ Sasuke thought angrily.

"Cacnea, start with Poison Sting!" Sasuke called loudly, Cacnea responded with a flurry of glowing purple needles shooting from it's mouth.

"Larvesta, dodge and use String Shot." Shino responded quickly to Cacnea's attack, as did Larvesta, diving out of the way before spitting mass amounts of silky substance at Cacnea, wrapping it up and entangling it.

"Follow with Ember." Shino commanded again. From it's five horns small fireballs were shot towards Cacnea. Engulfing it in flames. The String entangling Cacnea began to burn away, but kept the flames alive as it did, continuously burning Cacnea with the heat.

"Follow with another Ember." Shino commanded his fire bug pokemon to attack again. Larvesta fired more horns from it's spiky horns. Engulfing Cacnea in even more flames, Cacnea yelled out in pain before dropping to the ground. It was simply burned too much to continue on.

Sasuke's eyes widened, his mouth went agape, even against Gas, he didn't have this much of a problem. Gas relied on brute strength, yet Shino had defeated him with strength and strategy. Every pokemon he had, Shino had one pokemon with a move to put an advantage against it. Sasuke silently dropped to his knees in defeat. "Here!" He suddenly yelled in annoyance, taking out the Metal Coat at throwing it at Shino's feet. Shino returned his new Larvesta back to it's ball. Before gently bending down to pick up the Metal Coat.

"Thank you, Sasuke." Shino spoke gratuitously, taking the Metal Coat and slipping it in his bag. Yet he still continued to look around in his bag, once he had pulled something out he walked over to Sasuke and held it out towards him. "Here, something to trade your Metal Coat for."

Sasuke looked up, seeing the rock in Shino's hand. He gently pulled it from the bug boy's hand, staring at the peculiar object in his hand. It was a smooth oval shape, but covered in chips and cracks. It was an orange yellow in colour but appeared dull. "What is it?"

"I am not sure. I found it during my expedition with the Underground Man, I found it with the Claw Fossil I used to revive Anorith. Why did I keep it? It appeared valuable, so I kept it in case I needed a bargaining chip for a moment such as this. You may keep it Sasuke, you may find more use for it than I have."

Sasuke only continued to look at the strange rock, perhaps he would have to take a trip back to Oreburgh or Eterna to find out it's actual use. "I thank you for the Metal Coat again, Sasuke. But I must ask for assistance from one of you." Shino spoke to the three of them, Sakura and Naruto approached the other two boys, so they could hear Shino better. "I would like to perform a Trade Re-Trade."

"A what?" Naruto asked in confusion, he understood the concept of trading, but a Trade Re-Trade.

"A Trade Re-Trade is when two trainers trade pokemon, and then trade the same two pokemon back again." Sakura explained to the blond. "It's really useful when you want to get pokemon like Golem, Machamp, Alakazam or Gengar that can only evolve through trading."

"Oh, so I take it your after evolving Scyther into Scizor, that's why you were after the Metal Coat." Naruto responded in understanding, waiting for Shino's nod of agreement before beaming widely. "Well I'll help you out. Lets go get you a Scizor!"

* * *

"So what do I do now?" Naruto held the traded pokeball in his hand, he had traded his Staravia for Shino's Scyther, but didn't know how to activate the evolution from trading.

"Call Scyther out of it's ball." Shino answered in his usual stoic voice, waiting for Naruto to begin Scyther's evolution.

"Go, Scyther." Naruto gripped the ball, and hesitantly threw it in the air. Shino's large mantis pokemon appeared, holding the metal coat. Instantly Scyther was enveloped in light, it's long scythe appendages shortening and becoming rounder and thick, it's body now standing more straight than arched over. It's green skin had changed to a gleaming red colour. "Scizor!" It's high pitched cry had replaced with a deeper tone.

Naruto, Sakura, Shino and Sasuke all pulled out their respective pokedexes, scanning the new pokemon.

_Scizor, The Pincer Pokemon, A Scizor has a body with the hardness of steel. It is not easily fazed by ordinary sorts of attacks. It flaps its wings to regulate its body temperature. _

"Cool!" Naruto stared at the red metal bug, before returning it to it's ball, he had made a promise to Shino. He placed the pokeball back in the trading pod along with Shino placing his Staravia back on the other side, in a few seconds the pokeballs had traded back to their original owners.

Naruto picked his Staravia's pokeball back up. "I'm sorry about that, yours was just the first pokeball I found. I wouldn't do trade you way, you've been too much help to me to do that." He whispered to Staravia within the ball.

"Thank you for your help Naruto. I will give you a small piece of advice. Why? Because you as a friend have helped me, and a good friendship is based on give and take." Shino replied in his usual speaking pattern of asking a question then answering it himself. "Fantina is also a Top Co-ordinator. I would suggest watching the next Contest here in Hearthome, watch and learn how they move their pokemon, because that is how Fantina will battle as well." Shino nodded to the three of them, not waiting anymore to give a goodbye he left quickly, leaving through the doors of the pokemon centre and continuing his journey.

"I'm going to battle Fantina now. Don't wait up." Sasuke spoke quickly after Shino had left, he too didn't wait for a reply and left immediately.

"Sasuke-kun, wait!" Sakura called after him, only to be stopped by Naruto placing a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"Let him go, Sakura and leave him be for the moment." Naruto spoke quietly, in an understanding tone. "Sasuke is used to being the best in our class, for Shino who was second best to suddenly be ahead of him. Sasuke is making sure he isn't too far behind Shino. He's doing this to boost his own self-esteem and confidence, don't worry. He'll come back." Naruto finished with a reassuring smile.

"It's not that. It's just..." Sakura looked uneasy in finishing her sentence. "My contest... it starts soon."

"Oh..." Naruto realised the problem. She wanted Sasuke to support her through the contest, it was understandable, she supported Sasuke, even though he always drifted away to battle the gyms alone. "Well I'm still here to support you Sakura. Sasuke will just have to miss out on seeing how strong you've become." Naruto grinned widely before turning around. "So lets head over to the Contest Dome and get you sorted out!"

He began leaving towards the dome. Sakura could only stare at the blond back, a small smile growing on her face. _'Naruto, no matter what, you are always smiling...'_

* * *

"Ah look who it is, Naruto and Sakura, where's Sasuke-kun?" They were met by the familiar voice of a familiar platinum blond. Ino stood with Choji and Shikamaru in a cleared Contest Dome. Yahiko's interview ending quite some time ago and now things were being prepared for the contest.

"Sasuke's gone off to challenge Fantina." Naruto replied with a sigh, seeing Shikamaru and Choji's looks, as if silently asking him why Sasuke hasn't come to support Sakura.

"I see there's no Hinata again as well. Maybe she's already quit as a Pokemon Co-ordinator, I haven't seen her compete in a contest with me yet." Ino looked around for the final rookie team. They were not anywhere in sight.

"Ino, Hinata's already won two ribbons. She broke off from her team with Shino and Kiba and their all going their separate ways. She's further ahead than both of us. I haven't even got my first ribbon yet." Sakura told Ino the truth to the platinum blond's surprise.

"And neither has Ino. Only Choji has one a Ribbon from our team." Shikamaru replied before Ino had a chance to make something up and demoralise Sakura.

"Wow, Hinata's good. I never would have expected it, she was always so timid in class." Ino spoke with obvious surprise in her voice.

"I knew she had the most potential." Everyone turned to Choji, who was munching on a pack of chips. Everyone looked at him in surprise before he explain; "I saw Hinata practising contest moves on the academy training field after school, often because I came to do the same thing. Sometimes we would work together and help each other out. She was very talented right from the beginning."

Choji quickly took a few more chips and ate them before throwing away the empty wrappings. "I don't mean to sound rude or offensive, so I apologise if it comes out that way. But the reason Hinata is better than both of you is because she practised and trained during school, instead of spending all her time drooling over Sasuke. I'm going to prepare for my contest, Shikamaru." With that Choji left the group, leaving a gob-smacked Ino and Sakura staring wide eyed at him as he walked away.

An awkward silence lingered in the air before it was broke by the eruption of Naruto's fit of hysterical laughter. "You both got burned!" He laughed out , tears beginning to form in the corners of his eyes.

Sakura and Ino both grumbled under their breaths, but nonetheless managed to keep their tongues in place. They both walked their separate ways, heading to prepare for the contest.

"So Naruto, I heard everyone's found out about you being the Champion's son?" Shikamaru noted lazily, stopping Naruto's laughter. "You've said it in the middle of The Leader of Akatsuki's interview. The world pretty much knows it now. How troublesome for you."

"I know. God I was so stupid to ask about Volkner and Akatsuki." Naruto cursed himself. Why he had said that he would never know.

"Yeah, hey, remember when it was just me who knew about that?" Shikamaru asked with a smirked on his face, throwing his arm around Naruto's neck. Naruto nodded slowly in return. "I miss those days..." The smirk faded from his face instantly. "I don't think we can be friends anymore," He continued to Naruto's shock. "You're gonna get a lot of attention now that everyone knows your the champion's son. And I've never been one for attention, its too troublesome, so I can't associate with you or I might get caught up in the middle of it."

Naruto's face fell with dejection. Before he received a playful punch to the arm courtesy of Shikamaru, who was smirking once again. "Just kidding, you're too troublesome to forget. Now lets go find some seats for this contest."

* * *

Sakura waited nervously back stage, pacing along the locker room. She felt her performance had been sloppy, was she using Meditite in a contest too early. She had combined Hidden Power to creates it's green orbs, then used confusion to give them a purple-blue glue, spinning them around Meditite's body rapidly. The using Bide to create a disco light affect radiating from Meditite's body through the spinning orbs.

But the other contestants were very good, perhaps she wouldn't make it through. Apparently Hinata had already one to Ribbons, and she was there when Choji won his first. She didn't want to be the furthest behind in her age group.

_'The scores have been tallied and the four contestants to go through to the battle round are...'_ The TV monitor backstage suddenly spoke, the contestants rushed over to it, huddling around in hopes that their names were called.

_'Sakura Haruno.'_ Sakura sighed heavily in relief at the call of her name, it was enough to get her through the first round, she looked back up at the monitor, awaiting the results of the other three contestants going through with her.

_'Ino Yamanaka... Choji Akimichi and... Haku Yuki!'_ They turned to the fourth person, he was a boy he appeared particularly pleased that he had made it through, but hid it well behind a veil of calmness. He looked towards his three possible combatant s in the next round, before looking back to the screen.

"Well looks like we all made it through, huh?" Ino beamed, standing in between Sakura and Choji. "No hard feelings against whoever wins, huh?"

_'The match ups for the next are: Sakura Haruno VS Haku Yuki and Ino Yamanaka VS Choji Akimichi. Would Sakura and Haku please prepare, your match will start soon!'_ The presenter on the TV screen called again, before the TV switched itself of. The dejected faces of the Co-ordinator's who didn't get picked faded out of the room back stage, leaving the dome.

Ino stared in shock at the match ups. She hadn't expected to battle Choji now, she expected to battle him in the finals when she might have had more time to sweet talk him into throwing the match for her. She looked towards the usually lovable boy. He glared back, he seemed ready for the battle, more like actually looking forward to it.

"You said it yourself, Ino. No hard feelings against the winner. So please give it your all." Choji spoke with confidence, unusual for someone as shy as he usually was.

_'What's up with Choji, he seems angry at Ino...'_ Sakura stared at the brown haired boy as he walked off to prepare for his own battle. Ino moped down onto the bench, Sakura was unsure of what to say to cheer up the platinum blonde.

_'Would Sakura and Haku please make their way to the stage!'_ A voice called out over the intercom, now there was no time to say anything to cheer her up. "Do your best Ino. I'd like to battle you in the finals." Sakura spoke with a smile, before she headed off. Haku had already left, he, like Choji appeared confident and ready. And something about the smirk on his face made all of Sakura's confidence in her abilities fade. She had seen him perform, and he was excellent, totally in sync with his pokemon partner. Only one thought ran through Sakura's mind. _'Can I win against him?' _

* * *

**A/N:** Yo! Rinne here! Well how was that? 7000 words long makes it my longest chapter yet I think. Akatsuki interview I gave a shout out to a few people who left questions, Final Black Getsuga and Codenamed Bolt, those were the two easiest pennames to transfer over and make them sound like a magazine, newspaper, websiter or blog. So that's why. I hope I answered them as Pein-ily as possible, I didn't want to give too much away about Akatsuki.

Sasuke VS Shino. Shino's one of my favourite Characters. He's strong, smart and during the Chunin Exams when he's about to fight Kankuro Sasuke clearly shows some respect for him as a fighter. So I may have overpowered him slightly, but I want to get across that while Sasuke's been thinking he's cruising at the top of the class, he hasn't realised how quickly the second best catches up.

And just when Sasuke was about to show a change of heart this happens. Don't worry, if anything this experience will probably cause Sasuke to open up even more. Now that he knows he not totally unbeatable against people his own age as well.

Well after that that's pretty much most of the Hearthome arc done, just got to do Naruto's gym challenge and a walk in that back gardens, then boom. On the road again. If I haven't said it before the team will break up after Hearthome and I will be introducing two new travelling partners for Naruto.

I've also been thinking about the future of the fic, not discontinuing it. But I'm thinking of stopping around chapter 30 and starting the sequel, which will take place 3 years into the future so Naurto will be 15-16. I don't want a bunch of 12-13 year olds running around in a war trying to be super badass. Red's already done that and he did it well!

Anyways, that's pretty much it for now,

Until Next Time,

Rinne-Kami, Out!_  
_


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